Compromise in Washington is more important now, than perhaps at any time in American history

Public Agenda: Compromise: A Political Dirty Word?

• February, 2005
• Progress occurs in America when consensus builds around a set of compromises or trade-offs. That seems to be an important characteristic of how democracy works.
• Too often, compromise is portrayed in politics as either selling out your cause or a tactic employed by politicians who don't really have any cause at all. We need to recognize the value that consensus building and compromise have played in the past, and that these processes for coming to understanding are part of our nation's core values.
• It is difficult to say if the decrease in certain groups' willingness to embrace compromise on difficult issues is feeding the political system's increasing contentiousness, or vice versa.  Regardless, America needs leaders who recognize this tension and seek constructive ways to create dialogue between firmly held, divergent positions - and who seek new opportunities to create solutions capable of winning broad public support.

Although this article was published in 2005, it is just as relevant today.  In fact, due to our current national crises, such as the issues of the national debt, climate change and corporate personhood, political compromise in Washington is more urgently needed than perhaps any time before.