Americans Elect — the online presidential convention that will nominate a candidate in June 2012 — asks participants a number of questions in order to match their political preferences to a presidential candidate. The questions cover topics such as the economy, health care, the environment, education, foreign policy, social issues, government reform, energy, and immigration.
But nowhere is the topic of civility brought up. This is a shame, because I’m guessing one of the main things Americans are dissatisfied with is the failure of their political leaders to maintain a standard of civil debate. Our politicians and pundits advocate civility, but they don’t often live up to it. The Americans Elect convention would provide a good forum for people to spell out what it is they expect a president to do in order to create a civil atmosphere for political debate.
So, I’d like to suggest some questions that Americans Elect could ask its delegates and participants, so that the convention can choose a presidential candidate who matches the preferences of Americans when it comes to civility. Even beyond the Americans Elect convention, answering these questions could be a good exercise for people to think about what exactly they want their political leaders to do in order to uphold the ideal of civil debate.
That in mind, consider the following eight questions, which are in a similar format to the questions posed by Americans Elect:
Question #1 Civility in political discourse is best described as:
Being bipartisan and compromising
Not criticizing those with whom you disagree
Sticking up for what you believe in without resorting to name-calling
Civility is phony, you can’t compromise with or be uncritical of things you disagree with
Question #2 In the name of civility and civil debate, politicians should:
Just refrain from personally engaging in name-calling Also point out and criticize the name-calling of their opponents Also point out and criticize the name-calling of members of their own party
Do none of the above, politics is caustic, and name-calling is acceptable
Question #3 When someone disagrees with you about politics, it’s typically because:
They don’t care about doing the right thing, they’re being selfish
They have a different idea about what the right goal to pursue is
They agree with me on what goal to pursue, but have a different idea on how to achieve it
None of the above is more typical than the others
None of the above applies at all
Question #4 In order to defeat a political opponent, the ethical thing to do is:
Caricature them in derisive ways, politics is rough and tumble and ethics doesn’t apply
Criticize them, but not exaggerate or misrepresent
Treat them however they treat you
Not criticize their positions, only talk about the merits of your own
Question #5 Which of the following statements comes closest to what you believe?
Democrats are intentionally trying to destroy the country
Republicans are intentionally trying to destroy the country
Both parties are intentionally trying to destroy the country
Neither party is trying to destroy the country, that’s just name-calling
Question #6 Which of the following statements comes closest to what you believe?
Democrats and Republicans disagree on issues because Republicans put party before country, Democrats don’t
Democrats and Republicans disagree on issues because Democrats put party before country, Republicans don’t
Democrats and Republicans disagree on issues because they serve different special interests, though neither serves the national interest
Democrats and Republicans disagree on issues because they disagree about what is best for the country
Question #7 Which of the following statements comes closest to what you believe?
It is accurate to describe Republicans and conservatives as Social Darwinists
It is accurate to describe Democrats and liberals/progressives as Communists
Both of these statements are correct
Neither of these statements are correct, they are both name-calling and caricature
Question #8 Which party is more responsible for name-calling and invective?
Democrats
Republicans
Both are equally to blame
Unsure, it’s difficult to measure the amount of name-calling and invective on each side
Hopefully Americans Elect will incorporate something like these questions into their nomination process. And, more broadly, hopefully these questions will be helpful to Americans in general when it comes to thinking about how to make our political discourse more civil and less dominated by invective and acrimony.