The need for civility and cooperation in Washington was stressed by Congressman Fred Upton and colleagues during a virtual discussion hosted by Oakland University Tuesday. Upton tells us he was joined by Representatives Debbie Dingell and Elissa Slotkin to talk about the Problem Solvers Caucus, among other things.
“As a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, it’s in essence one of the underpinnings of what our belief is,” Upton said. “We’re going to take a civility pledge, and we’re going to trust each other that we’re not going to campaign or go after each other if you’re on one side of the aisle or the other.”
Upton believes there are enough lawmakers with a desire to do the nation’s business that there can be civility, even if it appears to be lacking on social media.
“Social media gets pretty rough. You could take on the Asian carp, and you’re still going to be attacked pretty fiercely by someone who might be, I can’t say they’re on the other side of the aisle, but they just like to attack folks. I guess you could just say it’s part of the business, but it’s really unfortunate.”
Upton says with divided government, it’s more important than ever for members of Congress to be civil if anything’s to get done. Tuesday’s discussion was moderated by writers from The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press.
