TRANSFORMATIONAL DIALOG: THE AMERICAN CIVILITY INITIATIVE
“The Practice of Presidents”
Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson
"Political Personalismo"
Former U.N. Foundation President Tim Wirth
THE CONCEPT
Everyone talks about how toxic the atmosphere in Washington is. Now it is the time to do something about it. The premise of “The American Civility Initiative” is to address the need to set the stage for problem-solving. The missing link is the lack of a foundation of familiarity and trust which creates the conditions for solutions and even consensus to occur. Without the establishment of this foundation, the failures of the current era will continue.
The American Civility Initiative seeks to begin to meet that need by hosting a series of small group dinners (e.g., +/-12 guests). These sessions will serve to (a) help establish relationships so critical issues can be discussed in a civil manner, (b) create conditions which allow elected officials to trust each other, (c) help officials make difficult decisions by encouraging all citizens to see each other in more humane terms by getting them to talk with and listen to each other, and (d) demonstrate to opinion leaders, political activists, and voters that people can disagree agreeably.
Hard data definitively prove the Congress and the nation as a whole are more polarized than ever in multiple respects. There is widespread, bipartisan agreement that politics in Washington, D.C. and across the country have become more venomous for a number of reasons, including:
- The permanent 365-day-a-year, 24/7, demagogic fundraising cycle.
- The scorched-earth, win-at-all-costs, destroy-your-opponent approach used to wage many campaigns.
- A Congressional redistricting process which rewards extremism and punishes moderation.
- The extraordinary influence and demands of a wide variety of special interests upon which candidates rely more heavily than ever.
- The expanded role in politics of anonymous third party organizations which have little or no accountability.
- The 24/7 news cycle which creates a constant negative media feedback loop which emphasizes and exacerbates conflict and avoids solutions so there always is a “story” the next day.
- The explosion of intentional misstatements, deception, and untruths as an ordinary practice of many in leadership or other political positions.
- The deficiency of civics education and knowledge on the part of both the electorate and even public officials.
- The lack of leadership at all levels due to the fear of political repercussions and the desire by elected officials to stay in office as well as progress to other offices and private sector positions.
- The lack of personal and even professional relationships between elected officials compared to prior times.
We believe one root of the problem is the lack of a foundation of familiarity and trust which creates the conditions for solutions and even consensus to occur. The American Civility Initiative seeks to develop that foundation by hosting a series of small group dinners (e.g., +/-12 guests) so that our elected officials have the opportunity to engage in a casual setting away from the media spotlight. These sessions will serve to (a) help establish relationships so critical issues can be discussed in a civil manner, (b) create conditions which allow elected officials to trust each other, (c) help officials make difficult decisions by getting them to talk with and listen to each other, and (d) demonstrate to opinion leaders, political activists, and voters that people can disagree agreeably.
The American Civility Initiative will provide a path for elected and appointed officials, as well as others involved in public policy, to discuss some of the nation’s and world’s most challenging issues. The project is structured to help participants find common ground to resolve challenges, as well as providing a highly public example for all Americans on how to engage respectfully even when in disagreement. Our goal is that within a 24 to 36 month effort, a key part of the Washington culture will be changed for the better. To verify the effect of this initiative, we plan to directly survey participants and viewers after the series has been broadcast. This is the gist of this transformational effort.
The American "Team"
Former Congressman Dan Glickman
"Building Personal Relationships"
Tony Earley, Chairman, CEO & President, PG&E (retired)
PARTICIPANTS
After consulting with a number of people involved in or familiar with similar endeavors, existing relationships from The Aaron Harber Show will be used to secure participation from current and past Cabinet Secretaries, other major Administration officials, U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Governors, major business leaders, key political activists, members of the Media, academics, technical experts, and other national opinion leaders — many of whom already have been guests on our television programs. Those who have already indicated their willingness to participate include the following:
- Wayne Allard, former U.S. Senator (R-Colorado)
- John Allen, General, former NATO Commander; former Commander, U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
- Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator (D-Colorado)
- Bill Bradley, former U.S. Senator (D-New Jersey)
- Hank Brown, former U.S. Senator (R-Colorado)
- Lester Brown, former President, Earth Policy Institute; Founder, the World Watch Institute
- Ken Buck, Congressman (R-Colorado)
- Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former U.S. Senator (R-Colorado)
- Amy Chua, Author & Professor at Yale Law
- Mike Coffman, Mayor, Aurora, CO; former Congressman, Treasurer, and Secretary of State (R-Colorado)
- Alex Cranberg, Chairman, Aspect Holdings; former Regent, University of Texas
- Ryan Crocker, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon
- P.J. Crowley, former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs & State Department Chief Spokesperson
- Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator (R-Texas)
- Diana DeGette, Congresswoman; former House Chief Deputy Whip (D-Colorado)
- Sylvia Earle, Chair, Mission Blue; Explorer-In-Residence, National Geographic; former Chief Scientist, NOAA
- Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
- Mickey Edwards, former Congressman; current Aspen Institute Vice President (R-Oklahoma)
- Steve Forbes, “Forbes” Magazine Publisher; former presidential candidate
- John Fortier, Director, Continuity of Government Commission; Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
- Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (R-Tennessee)
- Jason Furman, former Chairman, Presidential Council of Economic Advisors
- Cory Gardner, former U.S. Senator (R-Colorado)
- Dan Glickman, former Congressman; Agriculture Secretary; CEO, Motion Picture Association of America (D-Kansas)
- Jane Harman, former Congresswoman, member House Armed Services Committee (D-California)
- Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator (D-Colorado)
- John Hickenlooper, U.S. Senator, former Governor, and Denver Mayor (D-Colorado)
- Chris Hill, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia; former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Kosovo, Macedonia, Poland, and South Korea
- Tom Hoog, former U.S. President and Global Vice-Chairman, Hill & Knowlton
- Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights Activist
- Asa Hutchinson, former Governor, Congressman, DEA Administrator, Homeland Security Undersecretary (R-Arkansas)
- Jesse Jackson, Reverend, Civil Rights icon and activist; Founder & President, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Tom Kiernan, President & CEO, American Rivers; former CEO, American Wind Energy Association
- Steve King, former Congressman (R-Iowa)
- Ray LaHood, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation & former Congressman (R-Illinois)
- Doug Lamborn, Congressman (R-Colorado)
- Mitch Landrieu, Presidential Advisor & U.S. Infrastructure Coordinator; former New Orleans Mayor (D-Louisiana)
- James Leach, former Congressman; former Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities (R-Iowa)
- Joe Lieberman, Honorary National Founding Chair, No Labels; former U.S. Senator (D-Connecticut)
- Gregory Maffei, Chief Executive Officer & President, Liberty Media Corporation
- Taj Mahal, International Musician, Composer, Performer, Grammy multi-winner, “World Music" creator
- Ernest Moniz, former United States Secretary of Energy
- John Negroponte, former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, Iraq, Mexico, Philippines, and the United Nations
- Marvin Odum, former President, Shell Oil Company
- Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator (D-Oregon)
- Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator (R-Alaska)
- Joe Neguse, Congressman (D-Colorado)
- Ed Perlmutter, former Congressman (D-Colorado)
- Jared Polis, Governor, former Congressman (D-Colorado)
- Phil Radford, former Executive Director, Greenpeace USA
- Bill Richardson, former Governor, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Secretary of Energy (D-New Mexico)
- Bill Ritter, Executive Director, Center for the New Energy Economy; former Governor (D-Colorado)
- Jim Rogers, “Street Smarts” Author; Chairman, Rogers Holding Company, Inc.
- Roy Romer, former Governor, State Treasurer, Democratic National Committee Chairman (D-Colorado)
- Ken Salazar, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior; former U.S. Senator (D-Colorado)
- Larry Schweiger, former President & CEO, National Wildlife Federation
- Adam Sieminski, former Administrator, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
- Alan Simpson, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader & Simpson-Bowles Commission Co-Chair (R-Wyoming)
- David Skaggs, former Congressman; House Bipartisan Retreat organizer (D-Colorado)
- Eric Spiegel, former President & CEO, Siemens USA
- Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator (R-Alaska)
- Tom Tancredo, former Congressman; former Presidential candidate (R-Colorado)
- Scott Tipton, former Congressman (R-Colorado)
- Bryan Welch, former Publisher, “Mother Earth News” and “The Utne Reader
- Jon Wellinghoff, former Chairman, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Tim Wirth, former U.S. Senator; former President, U.N. Foundation (D-Colorado)
- Wyland, International Marine Life Artist
"We used to be able to work together..."
Former Congressman Mickey Edwards
"Invite them to the White House"
Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson
DIFFERENCES
The need for civility, mutually-respectful debate, bipartisanship, and compromise are well-known in Washington and across the country. Unfortunately, conditions for achieving these goals have deteriorated and the nation as a whole has regressed.
ULTIMATE GOALS
The American Civility Initiative will seek to (1) create a standard for civil and mutually-respectful debate, (2) examine areas of agreement and disagreement, (3) help establish and emphasize what ideas are not in dispute, (4) explore possible solutions, (5) try to forge consensuses, (6) define areas of final (unresolved) disagreement with participants agreeing to disagree in a courteous manner, and (7) demonstrate to officials and the public that there is a different path than the course taken in recent years.
Although there are several initiatives seeking to ameliorate this situation, The American Civility Initiative is the only effort which incorporates a television broadcast component. This will make it possible to inform a wide range of citizens of the state of affairs while showing them viable alternatives to the kind of belligerent and highly personalized debate which is the hallmark of political and media realms today. The American Civility Initiative not only will impact the elected officials involved, but it will also have a positive effect on the entire country.
The Team that pays your salary...
Former Congressman Dan Glickman
"It's all about what you look like on TV"
John Hayes, Chairman & CEO, BALL Corporation (retired)
PROVEN ABILITY
The Aaron Harber Show has an established record at securing the nation’s top tier guests to discuss issues in a civil manner (www.HarberTV.com/Info). We have demonstrated our ability to successfully develop this type of programming, as evidenced by the highly successful production of 14 half-hour nonpartisan programs created from a variety of public events held at George Washington University’s Morton Auditorium. This Washington. D.C. venue was originally built as the television studio for CNN’s “Crossfire” series.
Participants included former U.S. Senator Al Simpson; former White House Chief of Staff and former Facebook Board Director Erskine Bowles; former Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chair and former Director of both the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget Alice Rivlin; United Nations Foundation President and former U.S. Senator Tim Wirth; U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Marty Regalia; Economics Professor and former Labor Department official as well as current AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs; and Economics Professor and former Chief Economist for the International Trade Organization Peter Morici. The programs are available on The Aaron Harber Show™ website at http://www.HarberTV.com/SB.
This Washington-based endeavor produced amazing results from people with diametrically opposing views. The Aaron Harber Show will leverage this experience for the benefit of The American Civility Initiative. Similar bipartisan programming can be seen at www.bit.ly/LeadersCO (featuring former Republican Senator Bill Armstrong and Democratic Governors Dick Lamm and Bill Ritter).
Old School Traditions
Gregory Anton, past Chairman, American Institute of CPAs
"Campaign Finance: The Root of All Evil"
Former U.S. Senator Tim Wirth
THE PLAN
The Aaron Harber Show plans to bring together key players in an informal dining setting where guests can casually discuss select issues. The dynamics of “breaking bread” are well known for creating an environment conducive to mutually respectful conversation. The purpose of these sessions is not only to discuss major issues, but also to give leaders a chance to get to know each other as individuals and to show the American people their leaders can be civil despite stark differences in beliefs and opinions. An additional benefit over time, once participants get to know each other better, is it will become more difficult for those who are highly partisan or extreme to attack someone they have befriended.
The guests will be provided in advance with one or two topics for discussion, taken from suggestions by the guests themselves. Topics will be related to current events as well as major issues which are more evergreen in nature. Examples are Government’s Role in Job Creation, Health Care Reform, The Department of Defense in the Modern Era, Civics Education and the Responsibility of Citizenship, Crime and Safety In America, Climate Change, America’s Transportation Infrastructure, Tax Reform, American Diplomacy, A National Energy Strategy Saving Social Security & Medicare, New Paths for American Diplomacy, Transforming American Politics, Immigration Reform, and Education in America. Guests will be solicited for the topics which most interest them.
"We've got real issues in America right now..."
John Hayes, President & CEO, BALL Corporation (retired)
Negative Campaign Ads "Poison The Water"
Former Congressman, Tom Tancredo
BROADCAST AND DISTRIBUTION
BROADCAST AND DISTRIBUTION
A one-hour program for broadcast will be created from each dinner session. Colorado Public Television (PBS12) has asked to formally be the “Presenting Station” and to provide these programs to all 354 Public Television stations throughout the country. This is expected to be the primary national broadcast plan for the series.
The intent is to have broad national access to the programs. Numerically, the ultimate goal will be to make certain up to 250 million Americans will be able to watch the programs at their convenience at no charge.
“The Aaron Harber Show” already has received national exposure when a 26-program series was broadcast nationwide on Mark Cuban’s AXS TV channel (in partnership with CBS, Anschutz Entertainment Group, Creative Artists Agency, and Ryan Seacrest Media). Over 61 million households and 127 million people in the U.S. has access to the program (this was prior to Cuban’s sale of AXS). For more information, please contact http://[email protected].
Career Politicians - Are We To Blame?
John Hayes, President & CEO, BALL Corporation (retired)
Checks and Balances
Former U.S. Senator Cory Gardner,
former Colorado Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien,
and former Congressman Tom Tancredo
"The Void of Leadership"
John Hayes, President & CEO, BALL Corporation (retired)
Business Community Leadership
John Hayes, President & CEO, BALL Corporation (retired)
"How the venom started..."
Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson