The Hill News

We hear a lot about the deeply divided electorate, about the gap between the priorities of red state and blue state America.  While partisan differences have sharpened over the years, the truth is that the American people â€" conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican â€" are unified when it comes to what our leaders in Washington should be focused on.  A September CBS/New York Times poll found that 59 percent of respondents said that the most important problem facing the country today was the economy.  To put that number in perspective, the next highest answer given was “Budget Deficit/National Debt” that clocked in at just 8 percent. 

It is clear that the electorate wants Washington to find a way to turn this economy around, and to the average voter there is no more important barometer to the economic health of the nation than the unemployment rate.  With the unemployment rate over 9 percent, it is clear that what has been tried in Washington s! imply is not working.

The corollary to the deeply divided America is the deeply divided Capitol Hill.  Certainly it is true that a number of factors, from campaign finance reform to redistricting to the rise of interest groups, have polarized Washington, yet there are still issues that can and should transcend the partisan divide. 

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