Harwood Report: Predictions Of Bi-Partisanship, Civility After Sept. 11 Prove Wrong

10/15/2002

From: Melinda Patrician of The Harwood Institute, 301-656-3669

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 -- In a report released today by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, "Lip Service: Political Conduct in America," community leaders from across the country say the short-lived surge of political goodwill generated by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are only lip service.

Based on a series of civic forums involving over 200 community leaders from seven cities participating in Harwood's New Patriotism Project, scores are given to political leaders, news media and citizens rating their political conduct based on criteria developed by the Institute through in-depth civic research over a three-year period.

Perhaps most shocking in the report are not the scores given to political leaders and media, who are generally rated as giving Lip Service or Starting to Improve, respectively, but those given to citizens, who are rated in the lowest, Business As Usual category. In fact, throughout the civic forums, civic leaders expressed the belief that citizen conduct is the weakest element of political conduct in the nation.

"We are finding the theme of this report echoed time and again in our work with communities across the country," said Richard C. Harwood, president of The Harwood Institute. "In our poll with the Gallup organization in January 2002, just months after 9/11, Americans said they expected the conduct of political leaders, news media and citizens to be just about the same or worse than in previous years.

"They said it again in these civic forums. And all of these predictions have come true. This political season's deplorable conduct-in language, in advertising, in voter turnout--just confirms people's worst expectations," Harwood stressed.

"In the words of one Houston citizen, 'People want spirited debate and politics ought to be exciting...' And politics was just that in a recent gubernatorial debate in which news media and citizens judged candidates not on who threw the most barbs, but on substance and knowledge of their constituencies. We have a long way to go, but we know we can do better," Harwood said.

"That's the good news -- in several of these cities, the hope of these same citizens, political leaders and news media has been manifested through Campaign Watches, Debate Watches and, in Wisconsin, a bipartisan New Patriotism Caucus of the state legislature that holds politicians accountable to these aspirations," Harwood added.

The 20-page report is based on a series of seven civic forums held in seven communities around the nation: Bucks County, Pa.; Frederick, Md.; Houston, Texas; Madison, Wis.; Seattle, Wash.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Tampa, Fla. It sums up the aspirations of civic leaders on several themes, from wanting politics to be informed by the common good, to a focus on the issues and inclusion of all constituencies in the community, to engaged youth and high voter turnout. It points to the obstacles to those aspirations: a shortsighted news media, lack of time, cynicism, barriers to civic involvement and a "lack of community."

For a copy of the full report, contact The Harwood Institute, 301-656-3669, or download the report at www.theharwoodinstitute.org.

The Harwood Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works within a long tradition of small, catalytic and public-spirited organizations in American history that have sought to improve public life and politics. The Institute's New Patriotism Project is moving Americans beyond flag-waving to a higher level of public and political engagement. The initiative is providing people with the tools and vision to improve the way political leaders, the news media and citizens conduct themselves, community by community across the country.