Letter: 'It’s Time for Partisan Party Politics to be Put Aside'

The election is over but like a contentious football game between archrivals, the post-event ranting is still going strong. The real concern at this point is not with what has already transpired, but more so with where we are right now and where we are headed.

Ever since I was first elected to the State House of Representatives I have had a pretty simple philosophy for getting legislation passed. I never counted on cunning cryptic strategies or parliamentary gamesmanship or the setting of traps to force members to vote a certain way.

I take a much more straight ahead and simplistic strategy—I reach across the aisle to work together with my colleagues. That was my approach then and remains my approach now.

When people keep fighting merely for the sake of towing the party line, when divisive mindsets are created for the sole purpose of sustaining their respective machine, when the energy put into resolving a problem becomes more about “us versus them” over what needs to be done for the people, representative democracy becomes broken and cannot work.

Unfortunately we see these conditions in local, state, and federal government.

We recently witnessed how things should work when we saw New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unapologetically cross party lines and work with President Obama. This was not about a Republican selling out to a Democrat or a Democrat kowtowing to a Republican; this was simply an exemplary snapshot of good government in action—but it sure upset a lot of people.

A good idea is a good idea, people don’t care from where it came, they want, they expect, and they deserve results. As a nation and as a state, we have reached a tipping point where if all elected officials don’t start working together, and working well together, we are going to find ourselves in a position where hopelessness and decline are the new norm.

It’s time for partisan party politics to be put aside and time to get to work.

Sen. Tim Solobay