Searching for common ground? Start with the Constitution.
| Salem, N.H.
Donald Trump won more votes here in Salem than in any other New Hampshire town, which makes Janet Breslin鈥檚 job especially challenging 鈥� but also exciting.
She鈥檚 the new chair of the Salem Democratic Town Committee, marshaling the troops in a corner of a local coffee shop on a recent summer morning. They are outgrowing this corner, their ranks having swelled with representatives from some of the two dozen campaigns building up their teams in New Hampshire, which hosts the first-in-the-nation primary.
As they go around the room for campaign updates, a young woman shares that Tulsi Gabbard is coming the following week. Dr. Breslin wants to know if she has a printed flyer for the event. No, the young woman responds, but it will be up on Facebook and the campaign鈥檚 website.
Why We Wrote This
Amid widespread Democratic concerns about the country鈥檚 direction, former Senate staffer Janet Breslin is reaching out to local Republicans. Part 5 in a summer series on people who are facing 鈥� and successfully navigating 鈥� America鈥檚 most intractable challenges.
鈥淭he only reason I鈥檓 saying printed, in this one case, 鈥� is [a local man who is] a solid Republican told me once there鈥檚 a couple candidates he鈥檇 like to see,鈥� including Ms. Gabbard, says Dr. Breslin, providing the voter鈥檚 name and the location of his business so the woman could pay him a visit. Some Republicans, she adds, feel abandoned or orphaned. She encourages attendees to make personal contact with their conservative neighbors.
As Dr. Breslin 鈥� a former congressional staffer and national security professor at the National War College in Washington, D.C. 鈥� dives into grassroots politics for the first time, she sees a need for the country to come together and recognize one other鈥檚 humanity. And she sees the Constitution 鈥� rather than any one personality or political party 鈥� as the key to unifying the country.
鈥淢y hope for the country lies in my love for the Constitution, the most amazing governing blueprint for this unique nation of ours,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f we can come back to it, to honor its intent, we will begin to truly listen to each other and find that political 鈥榗enter of gravity鈥� which keeps our country stable and just.鈥�
From a Chilean coup to ambassador鈥檚 residence in Saudi
Having lived in Chile and Saudi Arabia, and experienced firsthand the impact of undemocratic governance, she has a deep appreciation of the uniqueness of American government 鈥� however frustrating or slow or painful it may be.
Dr. Breslin, whose Ph.D. is in political science, sees the Constitution as carefully designed to acknowledge competing interests and ensure that all sides would be heard and considered, promoting a culture of compromise and coming together.
鈥淗ow the framers of the Constitution looked at the question of power is key to understanding their vision for America,鈥� says Dr. Breslin, who is working on co-hosting a table about the Constitution with Republicans at a local festival this fall. 鈥淚 feel very protective of wanting all of us to appreciate what the framers had in mind 鈥� how effective it鈥檚 been and why it鈥檚 worth protecting.鈥�
She was living in Chile when the 1974 coup overthrew the democratically elected president, paving the way for the commander in chief of the army, Augusto Pinochet, to come to power. This, in a country that had a vibrant free press, a parliamentary system, three political parties, and a constitution.
鈥淭hen one night, liberty went away,鈥� she says, recalling how in the months that followed Chilean friends began justifying things like torture because it was an 鈥渦nusual鈥� time.
Fast-forward 35 years, and she moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband, James B. Smith, whom President Barack Obama appointed ambassador. Here was an absolute monarchy, a country where citizens not only had never known democracy, but where, she observed, most didn鈥檛 even have the instinct to form a group to resolve an issue 鈥� such as a neighborhood getting together to put in a stoplight, or Salem鈥檚 Democratic committee planning an ice cream social that morning to raise money for the local Boys and Girls Club.
鈥淭hat instinct didn鈥檛 exist there,鈥� says Dr. Breslin. 鈥淭heir response was, 鈥楲et鈥檚 wait and see what the king does.鈥欌��
鈥淚 think most Americans don鈥檛 realize how unique a system we have,鈥� she says.
Problem-solving with patience
Dr. Breslin comes from Republican roots herself, but when she was in college John F. Kennedy inspired her to register as a Democrat. When she went to make the switch in her small California town, they asked her: Does your father know? Yes, he did, and he was good-natured about it.
As a Republican-turned-Democrat, she has long held the belief that representatives of both parties can find common ground. But back when she worked on Capitol Hill in the 1980s and early 1990s, reaching across the aisle happened far more frequently than it does today.
鈥淲e looked at politics as problem-solving,鈥� says Ms. Breslin, citing as an example the 1985 bipartisan Gramm-Rudman budget bill designed to curb the national deficit. 鈥淲hat I worry about right now is this vilification of each other. ... It鈥檚 a change of focus from solving problems to really seeing the other as evil. And that to me seems un-American.鈥�
To be sure, she knows how frustrating it can be to work within a system that, as she puts it, values process more than product. But she has come to see that as part of the beauty of America鈥檚 unique system.
鈥淭he whole time I worked on Capitol Hill I always imagined the framers of the Constitution looking at me,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淎nd on those days that we were frustrated because we couldn鈥檛 get something done, they鈥檇 be smiling because they wanted it to take time.鈥�
And so she has been patient with those she encounters who hold divergent viewpoints. Brenda Berkal, who attended the Democratic committee meeting and knows Dr. Breslin through her dental practice, recalls her poise when she gave a talk about Saudi Arabia and got a tough question from an audience member.
鈥淚t was just remarkable watching her sit down and talk with someone who I thought would be unreachable,鈥� says Dr. Berkal. 鈥淚 aspire to that someday. I hope she gets to go further than just Salem.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the college where Dr. Breslin taught.
Read the rest of the series here:
