Updated: May 1, at 5:50 p.m.
A member of Congress, politicians and business leaders discussed how Americans can find common ground despite the country’s current divided political climate at the American College of Surgeons building Tuesday.
The event consisted of three panels that included speakers like Graduate School of Political Management alum and freshman Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Mark Dreiling, the chief of staff for Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and Jamie Schmelzer, vice president of marketing for Johnsonville sausages. Business for America — a nonprofit organization focused on improving civic engagement, reducing polarization and guiding businesses to engage in the politics — hosted the event, which was co-sponsored by GSPM.
Speaking before the event, Interim Director of GSPM Angela McMillen Ayres said the idea of bipartisanship is now “frowned on” by political hardliners and driven by targeted social media algorithms and news channels that work to “get people angry.”
She also said members of Congress who work across the aisle are criticized by their partisan bases, like how many moderate Republicans get labeled “RINOs,” or Republicans In Name Only, when they collaborate with Democrats, which she said in turn discourages representatives from creating bipartisan deals.
“Politics is not what it used to be, at least the idea of the spirit of political cooperation to get things done for the Americans who elected people to office,” Ayres said.
One panel featured Olszewski and former Maryland State Senator Chris Shank and was moderated by Tiffany Waddell, director of government relations at the National Governors Association, all three of whom are GSPM alumni. The panel focused on Olszewski’s and Shank’s approaches to leadership and their GSPM education.
Olszewski said the country is at a “breaking point” because of the high level of political polarization. He said business leaders should be “demanding” that lawmakers collaborate across the aisle to create legislation that does not have “only partisan outcomes.”
“It’s really scary, frankly, as a new member, to see just how partisan this town is,” Olszewski said. “As I talk to colleagues, the vibe is, it’s gotten worse, but I think we’re at a breaking point.”
He said to reduce political polarization, more politicians will need to risk their “political fortunes” by speaking out against the Trump administration’s policies. He said some of the administration’s actions are unconstitutional, like efforts to dismantle government agencies without Congressional approval, including programs like AmeriCorps, a federal program that funds thousands of volunteer opportunities each year that support education, disaster relief and community development efforts in the United States.
“I genuinely want to work with my Republican colleagues,” Olszewski said. “I genuinely want to find ways to work with this administration, but when your opinion, your voice, is brushed to the side when principles we’ve taken for granted for decades, centuries in this country are ignored, it’s hard.”
Olszewski said the most impactful course he took during his time at GSPM was about political leadership, which taught him the “sheer importance” of politicians forming a human connection with their constituents. He said politicians need to stay connected to the “authenticity” of why they are running for office and representing their constituents.
“When you see those who are most effective at delivering results and reaching across the aisle, there is a real, rooted and authenticity to staying connected to the people they serve,” Olszewski said.
Shank, a Republican who served in the Maryland State Senate from 2011 to 2015, said he does not think political polarization will lessen until the country fixes its “broken system” of gerrymandering, the practice of drawing electoral districts to disproportionately benefit one political party.
“I never feared a Democrat running against me. I only feared a Republican running against me in the primary,” Shank said. “And I dare say that for most of the districts represented here in Washington, then it’s probably the same thing.”
In another panel focused on how members of Congress of opposite parties can work together, Dreiling and Jack Leighninger, a legislative assistant for Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), discussed how the representatives they work for maintain constituent support in politically moderate districts. The panel was originally set to feature Houlahan and Bacon, but a sudden vote in the House Armed Services Committee forced the representatives to miss the event.
Leighninger said growing political polarization in Congress stems partly from members and their staff no longer having time to build relationships with each other like they once did. He said Congressional staffer pay is “not competitive” with the private sector, leading to high turnover. He said this turnover combined with many lawmakers no longer living in D.C. limits long-term opportunities for staffers and members to interact in a non-political environment.
“I’ve been in my office now five years,” Leighninger said. “I’m one of the only people that I know amongst personal office staff who are in that position.”
Leighninger said both Houlahan and Bacon share a military background and have worked together in the House for years on bipartisan legislation, like the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which helped the two build a personal relationship and work together more effectively.
Dreiling said Bacon follows the “Nebraska way” of working across the aisle to solve issues and “extending a hand of friendship” to those who disagree with him politically. He said people can get “a lot further in life” by reaching out with a hand of friendship rather than a “clenched fist.”
Dreiling also said despite reports of high political polarization, he still thinks many members of Congress are focused on delivering legislation for their constituents as their foremost priority.
“I think you have a lot of members who come here and they legitimately want to just get things done,” Dreiling said. “They see problems, and they want to fix those problems.”
In a talk about how private business can help lessen political division, Schmelzer, vice president of marketing for Johnsonville, discussed how the company used its platform to preach cooperation and kindness during the 2024 presidential campaign.
He said Johnsonville partnered with The Harris Poll, which is not affiliated with former Vice President Kamala Harris, before the 2024 election to conduct a national survey of how Americans felt about the political climate, which Johnsonville dubbed “The National Temp Check.”
He said after the poll, the company launched a campaign to counter polarized political rhetoric by hosting events in battleground states like Pennsylvania, which were heavily targeted by political advertising, where they handed out sausage and got people with differing political values to talk.
“This is all to say that we are doing everything we can think of with our sausage voice to work on this, and it has been a memorable and effective ad campaign for us.”
He said the company’s poll found 84 percent of Americans agreed there was “too much outrage” in the country, but 91 percent agreed the country can make more progress when they “have fun together.” He said Americans need to focus on the similarities and common ground they have with each other to “turn down the temperature.”
“Never tell anybody to stop caring about the issues that are important to them, but encourage everybody to make time to start having more fun together, starting right now,” Schmelzer said.
This post has been updated to correct the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported Angela McMillen Ayres’ title as Dean of the College of Professional Studies. Ayres is the Interim Director of Graduate School of Political Management. We regret this error.
