Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans in Congress Once Reached Bipartisan Compromises
The Price of Business Digital Network has a new series of outstanding commentaries from thought leaders. This is one in that series.
Stephen R. Weissman
As we suffer through a period of excessive partisanship, it is useful to recall that there was a time when extremely liberal and conservative members of Congress listened to one another and reached limited agreements on important policies.
I lived through one of these moments — and a particularly dramatic one — as a staff member of a congressional subcommittee when it sponsored a members’ trip to the important, mineral-rich African nation of Zaire during the presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan. During the visit, we personally witnessed a violent attack on peaceful political opponents of the Mobutu dictatorship right after they had met with our delegation.
Our delegation, which included 7 congressmen, was led by liberal Democratic Subcommittee Chairman Howard Wolpe, who prioritized distancing the U.S. and its assistance from Zaire’s human rights abuses, and conservative ranking Republican Gerald Solomon who emphasized U.S. support for Mobutu’s “friendly” regime. Could we come together with an adequate response to the attack?
After discussion, our group unified around a letter of protest demanding release of the prisoners (later they were released) and an official explanation. At the same time, they decided to keep an appointment with the President on his luxurious yacht the next afternoon but declined to partake in a festive lunch.
Mobutu joined us aboard the massive boat on the Congo River via his helicopter which landed on the third deck. Wolpe and Solomon expressed to Mobutu their policy priorities but again found unity in telling him that his regime’s tactics were unacceptable. The President was extremely unhappy with us.
Afterwards, both Wolpe and Solomon and their staff reached agreement on a cable rejecting the State Department pro-regime summary of their visit because they omitted the opposition group’s evidence of official corruption and attachment to democratic goals and understated Mobutu’s anger and manifestations of political and personal insecurity.
In an era when bipartisan compromise is too rare , we need to remember such moments for they provide a vision of a better future.
Stephen R. Weissman has written three books and many articles on U.S. foreign policy in the Congo and other countries and on U.S. campaign finance reform. His new book, “From the Congo to Capitol Hill: A Coming-of-Age Memoir” is an honest and revealing account of his experience as a Professor in the Congo caught up in a racial conflict and a leading congressional foreign affairs staffer. It is available from Amazon and other booksellers. His author’s website is:
Stephen R. Weissman LinkedIn address is:
Podcast Guests profile: https://podcastguests.com/expert/srweissman/
For more great politics content see here.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE:
About Author
