海角大神

Follow us on Twitter听@CSM_politics.听Review the previous eight installments, from guns to health care,听here.

In this week's edition:

1. Cover story: A memo to the next president听
2. By the numbers: See how Congress's productivity has dropped off over the last 40 years
3. Civics 101:听'Son of a half-breed Indian squaw' & other insults wielded by the Founding Fathers
4. List: Meet the 5 most bipartisan lawmakers in Congress
5. Photo gallery: Republicans and Democrats give their own take on bumper-sticker slogans
6. Guest column: America divided? Not in these hundreds of communities.听
7. Engage: How schools can bring civility to politics
8. Our picks: 'Politics isn't broken' 鈥� and more听

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Memo to the next president

By Colin Woodard, Contributor

As the 2016 election campaign has turned increasingly bizarre, I鈥檝e been traveling the United States, writing about cities that have managed to pull off amazing things. From New Hampshire to Utah, North Carolina to Ohio, the successes of the disparate communities I鈥檝e written about turned out to have something in common: an ability for business executives, elected officials, and nonprofit leaders to cooperate to provide a common good none of them could create on their own.听

In more than 150 interviews and 50,000 published words, party affiliations never came up, even though many of the individuals clearly checked different boxes in federal elections during civic efforts that typically took 20 to 30 years to execute.

It鈥檚 enough to renew my faith in Americans鈥� ability to get things done, and it鈥檚 unexpectedly squared with the ideas I鈥檝e put forward in a recent book on how to heal our political culture at the federal level at a time when the republic itself can seem in peril. Our history offers sound counsel in how to restore faith in our democratic institutions. The cities I鈥檝e visited 鈥� which Washington-style gridlock and rancor have yet to reach 鈥� offer real-world evidence that it can be done.

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鈥� 听鈥� 听鈥�

BY THE NUMBERS

Also see Business Insider鈥檚 amazing 60-second animation on how divided Congress has become over the past 60 years 鈥� one of the best illustrations we've seen 鈥� and Pew's interactive graphic on political polarization among the American public.

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CIVICS 101: 'Son of a half-breed Indian squaw' & other insults wielded by the Founding Fathers

The election of 1800, in which incumbent President John Adams faced off against Thomas Jefferson, featured no small degree of partisanship 鈥� as this excerpt from PBS reveals. But the two rivals reconciled later in life.

"Jefferson, who had lost in 1796, paid the editor of the听Richmond听Examiner听to print anti-Federalist articles and to praise the efforts of Jefferson's Party. His supporters accused the incumbent president Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman." In response, a leaflet by Adams' team called Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father."听

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LIST: Meet the most bipartisan lawmakers in Congress

By Story Hinckley, Staff writer

#2: Representative Pete King (R) of New York

Rep. King, who has served in Congress since 1993, was elected to his 12th term in November 2014 with 68.5 percent of the vote in his district.

In March 2015, he and Rep. Mike Thompson (D) of California introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen background checks for gun purchases 鈥撎齛 similar version of which they had introduced in the their previous term.

The King-Thompson bill, like companion legislation proposed by senators Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia and Pat Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania, would have expanded the background-check system to cover all commercial firearm sales. It would also incentivize states to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Although gun control is often considered a liberal issue, King included a conservative caveat in his proposed legislation: the law explicitly bans the federal government from creating a registry of gun owners in the US.听

Though the legislation did not pass, Newsday praised King as a 鈥渟tand up guy who isn鈥檛 shy about tangling with the powerful, even those in his own party. King has become a national figure who delivers for the region and his district.鈥�

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GALLERIES: Republicans and Democrats give their own take on bumper-sticker slogans

Political slogans seem to say much 鈥� and nothing 鈥� at the same time.

That's why we had our photographers roam the convention floors in Cleveland and Philadelphia and ask participants about their views on the prominent themes.

Their methodology was simple, if hardly scientific: collect a diverse array of people (gender, race, age, etc.) who were willing to talk to them.听The goal was to illuminate some of the thinking behind the "bumper sticker" slogans.

Voices from the Republican National Convention: What does a 'great America' look like?

View the full gallery

Voices from the Democratic National Convention: What would bring America together?听

View the full gallery

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GUEST COLUMN:听America divided? Not in these hundreds of communities.

By Mark Gerzon, Contributor听

After enduring a toxic year-long mudslinging contest, it is all too easy to conclude that civility is dead.

It certainly seems that America is divided. Not only have the two major parties pulled further apart, but our culture as a whole听鈥� media, business, universities, you name it 鈥� seems听to be increasingly polarized.

Television networks such as Fox News and MSNBC are clearly politically aligned, and the Internet has given each of us the opportunity to surround ourselves with news that fits our opinion. Research confirms that corporate boards of directors are overwhelmingly 鈥渞ed鈥� (by an almost 2-1 ratio). By contrast, university faculties are overwhelmingly blue (almost two-thirds identify as 鈥渇ar left鈥� or 鈥渓iberal鈥�).

Given this polarization, it is natural to feel disheartened and to fear that America is becoming completely politically segregated. But the good news is that hundreds of communities across the country are going in just the opposite direction. They are becoming vibrant places where citizens from across the political spectrum are working together to strengthen the civic fabric and revitalize democracy.

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ENGAGE: How schools can bring civility to politics

By John Gable, Contributor

With all the divisive rhetoric, sensationalist journalism, and inflamed passions during this election cycle, schools can be one of our saving graces.听

But only if teachers aren鈥檛 terrified about discussing elections.

Teachers recognize the need to discuss politics in order to prepare their students for their adult lives. But how can you do that without creating divisions within your classroom or introducing your own biases? Any false step, real or imagined, could lead to repercussions in the class, from parents and the administration.听

Unsurprisingly,听40 percent of teachers听are hesitant to teach about the election. And with that reluctance, it is no wonder that听some college students feel unprepared听to vote in elections.听

That is why a friend and I, along with help from dozens of educators and mediation professionals ranging from the far left to the far right politically, launched听AllSidesForSchools.org and its 鈥淓lections and Relationships鈥� program and lesson plans.

Here is the basic idea.听

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OUR PICKS: Recommended reading and viewing

1. "How American Politics Went Insane," The Atlantic

2. "Politics Isn't Broken," US News and World Report

3. "Why are so many Republicans and Democrats pretending to be independents?" The Washington Post

4. "American politics needs more civility, not less," The Boston Globe

5. "Sen. Susan Collins upon receiving Javitz Prize for Bipartisanship"

Also be sure to check out some of the Monitor's in-depth coverage on partisanship and compromise in US politics.

1. "Why swing voters are vanishing from US politics," by Peter Grier, Staff writer

2. "Susan Collins, a Republican armed for compromise," by Francine Kiefer, Staff writer

3. "Between red and blue, 'cranberry' voters carve an unlikely niche," by Story Hinckley, Staff writer