Is It Possible to Improve Civility in U.S. Politics?

Against the backdrop of a presidential election peppered with flashpoint remarks from Republican nominee Donald Trump, a movement is afoot to improve the degree of civility in the nation’s political discourse—with a special emphasis on state legislatures.

Behind the effort is the National Institute for Civil Discourse, a nonpartisan research and advocacy center based at the University of Arizona, founded after the 2011 shooting incident that left six dead and the state’s former congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, badly wounded.

This week, at a National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Chicago, the institute’s executive director, Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, called on state lawmakers to sign a set of civility standards intended to help raise the bar for political conduct.

The group has been working with lawmakers around the country on other initiatives as well, including workshops designed to help bridge partisan divides.

“There’s a critical mass of state legislators who want to make sure that they’re public squares are not infected with the same kind of incivility and dysfunction that we’ve been watching nationally,” Lukensmeyer said by phone Wednesday.

NICD offers sets of civility standards for members of the media, and the general public as well.

As of Friday, at least 488 people had signed the standards, with 39 identifying themselves as public officials. People from 43 different states and the District of Columbia are among the signators.

The institute was contacted earlier this year by the Commission on Presidential Debates to come up with a similar set of standards for candidates, moderators and audiences at the debates scheduled for later this year. Those guidelines are set to be released after Labor Day.

The standards Lukensmeyer pressed state legislators to sign this week call on them to take steps such as acting respectful toward others; taking responsibility for behavior and speech; speaking truthfully; and focusing on policy, as opposed to impugning the character of opponents.

Bare knuckle campaigns are not new to American politics. But the 2016 presidential race, and in particular Trump’s campaign style, has raised alarm among advocates for civil discourse.

Just this week, Trump made comments alluding to the possibility of gun-rights supporters stopping his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, from choosing judges. Some people interpreted the remarks as a suggestion of violence against her. Later in the week, he repeatedly and falsely asserted that Clinton and President Obama had co-founded the Islamic State terror group.

“Several of the realities of this election have just made it substantially more serious,” Lukensmeyer said as she discussed the level of concern over incivility in American politics.

As for the standards, she said NICD is under no illusion they’ll drastically alter the tone or toxicity of the current election cycle.

But the organization is looking to the future. One reason Lukensmeyer said the center has zeroed in on state lawmakers, is that many times they end up going on to have political careers in Congress—where partisan gridlock has become a defining characteristic in recent years.

“If we have a large number of state representatives who get committed to the principles and practices of civility, and the ability to solve problems through compromise,” she said, “then when they come to Washington they have a better chance of carrying those values into their freshman caucus and into the work that they do.”

State Rep. Matthew Pouliot, a Republican member of Maine’s House of Representatives, is a member of NICD’s National Network of State Legislators Committed to Civil Governance.

After attending one of the institute’s workshops, he took additional training to become a facilitator of events focused on promoting civility in politics.

“This training and this work isn’t to get people to just agree on every issue and sing ‘Kumbaya,’” he said during a phone interview this week. “It’s about understanding where the other person is coming from, you know, so that you don’t end up in a situation where you’re calling that person evil, or questioning their motives, maybe in a floor debate or in a press conference.”

He said that one of the more valuable parts of the training he’s been involved in is when people explain their “political journey”—offering a window into how they arrived at their political views.

NICD presented Pouliot with its Award for Civility in State Governance this week at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit.

Ohio state Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Democrat who is also part of the NICD national network, received the award as well. According to Howse, mud can

get slung at times in Ohio politics.

“Civility sometimes just goes out of the window,” she said by phone this week.

Howse pointed out that the sting from a personal attack during an election or a legislative session can linger, making it difficult for lawmakers to work together down the road.

“It’s very hard to repair damaged relationships,” Howse explained. And when it comes to tackling tough policy issues, she said: “we need everybody at the table.”

She acknowledged that getting lawmakers in Ohio onboard with civility initiatives supported by NICD has been “a slow process.” A training session there last fall attracted about 15 legislators. The Ohio House has 99 members and the Senate 33. Around 75 people attended a follow up event earlier this summer that was also open to members of the public.

There have been talks about incorporating civility workshops into orientation sessions for new legislators in the Buckeye State, Howse noted.

Another program NICD promotes is called Text, Talk, Revive Civility. It’s premised on a small group of people getting together, texting 89800, or “CIVILITY,” and then receiving a series of text messages guiding them through a roughly one-hour conversation about civility, and how to infuse more of it into politics.

“People are getting fed up, and there’s a lot of people that are just not engaging in politics anymore. Because they’re like: ‘it’s just so ridiculous,’” said Pouliot, the representative from Maine. “A democracy can’t function if its citizens don’t engage."

“None of this stuff is a panacea,” he added, referring to the civility initiatives. “But, I think most people would agree, it’s a step in the right direction.”