Process over partisanship: Brazile speaks to next generation of political leaders

While congresspeople near her home in Washington continue to snipe at each other over an emergency funding package—and just about everything else—political strategist and media analyst Donna Brazile refrained from adding to the vitriol during her Purdue University Fort Wayne visit Thursday. Instead, Brazile preached civility and community during her Omnibus Speaker Series presentation in Auer Performance Hall.

“Every vote matters, every voice matters, and we need every American," Brazile said. "I don’t care what your partisan affiliation is; go out here and be a cheerleader for democracy. We need more people cheering democracy on.”

Maybe some spectators hoped she’d tear into former president Donald Trump or have advice for the current commander in chief, but the ABC News commentator and Georgetown University professor encouraged everyone to stay engaged in the political process. Brazile warned this would be the longest general election in American history, saying it would get quite salty, repetitious, and vicious.

“I am trying to figure out how best to help my country,” she said. “We are coming apart, folks, and it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s no reason for the United States of America to come apart simply over politics.”

Instead of adding to the rancor, Brazile used humor, often poking fun at herself, such as why HGTV is her favorite cable network. Brazile seemed to preach the country’s political tension is caused by too many taking partisanship too seriously. The goal, she said, shouldn’t be which side can dictate and force the other to submit, but how we can work together to make the country better.

Brazile started her political journey at age 9, spurred by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the previous year. She supported a candidate who promised to build a neighborhood playground, a large promise considering the parks in her hometown of New Orleans were segregated in 1969.

Her candidate won, and the playground was built over the next two years, starting Brazil on a career that has included 55 congressional, 19 state and local, and 10 presidential campaigns.

During an afternoon classroom session, Brazile told a group of about 25 students she wanted to become a campaign manager because she wanted to use the power of the process to effect change and bring things to her country and community she thought could only happen through politics.

With the students hanging on her every word, she told the stories of her life and then answered their questions. Brazile tried to inspire them to not give up on the political process and even become the leaders America needs.

“I know we can work together,” Brazile said. “I know we can see past our differences. I know we can rebuild community. I know there’s something called civility that we should all practice, even if it hurts, but if we don’t become the leaders we are looking for, then we are not going to make this century the best century in America’s life.

“We need to get more people involved, especially more young people to prepare a new generation to be ready to take the stage, because some of us boomers are going to have to leave the stage. You all better be ready to step up. You better get ready because we need a new generation of leaders in this country—both sides."

After being introduced by Mike Wolf, chairperson of the Department of Political Science and the acting director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, Brazile started the evening session with a similar theme.

She talked about her work with presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, her friendships with Republican congressional leaders, and the highlights of seeing monumental legislation become law, such as the Affordable Care Act and making King’s birthday a national holiday.

Working together through compromise to move the country forward must return, Brazile said. Somehow, both sides need to find ways to engage the 43 percent of the population who define themselves as independents, not to win elections, but to help the country.

“The next four years will be better ones that see a country that comes back, and that people feel they have access to the American Dream,” Brazile said. “And we’re not going to be stuck thinking about the partisanship in Washington, D.C., of who gets to control the clock on whether we’re going to have another government shutdown. When we come together, we can tackle any problem. Yes, we have setbacks, we have false starts, and we face individual problems and obstacles, but we always come back. And when we come back, we come back stronger.”

The Omnibus Speaker Series at Purdue Fort Wayne is made possible in part due to the support of the English-Bonter-Mitchell Foundation, which has sponsored every season since the series launched in 1995.