‘A breath of fresh air’: Sen. Danforth and Bradley tackle broken politics and urge compromise

Senator John C. Danforth and Bill Bradley reflected on their experiences in Washington and charted out a potential path forward for American politics, Feb. 25. 

Danforth is the namesake of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, the organization that hosted the event, and is a member of their National Advisory Board,. The rows of Emerson Auditorium were packed with students and community members to witness this bipartisan conversation.

Danforth and Bradley served together in Washington and sat on the Senate Finance Committee together. 

“We always functioned as people with respect for each other,” Bradley said. “We didn’t agree all the time, but we never lost the respect, and it’s with that spirit that I’m happy to be here with you once again.”

Danforth, a Republican, served as a U.S. Senator for Missouri from 1976 to 1995. His late brother William Henry Danforth served as Chancellor of WashU from 1971 to 1995. Bradley, a Democrat, served in the U.S. Senate representing New Jersey from 1979 to 1997. Born in Crystal City, Missouri, Bradley went on to run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2000. He played college basketball at Princeton and professionally for the New York Knicks.

Both criticized the current state of American politics. Danforth said that politicians and the media stoke hate and division and appeal to the “absolute worst in human nature.”

“I don’t think it’s any surprise to anybody, but American politics is just broken,” Danforth said. “So the real question is, what are we going to do about it? What’s our role as Americans if we’re going to turn this around? It’s not going to be somebody up there who does it for us — it’s going to be the American people.”

Bradley emphasized the importance of compromise in politics and referenced his own major legislative accomplishment, the bipartisan 1986 Tax Reform Act.

“[As] a legislator, one of the things you need is a good set of ears to listen to what your colleague is saying they want,” Bradley said. “Find a way to compromise, [it] is not a negative word.”

While the two rarely directly referenced President Donald Trump during their discussion, both condemned the recent ICE raids and shootings in Minneapolis. Danforth criticized ICE agents as “masked characters” which Bradley agreed with.

Both also emphasized the importance of restoring humanity to politics.

“We’ve got to try to empathize with people who are different than we are,” Danforth said. ”We’ve got to see them as human beings, and we’ve got to try to reach out to them and understand it, particularly when we don’t agree with them.”

Leaving the event, first-year Ashton Knisely was impressed by their emphasis on treating political opponents with humanity.

“It was a wonderful event, and I think it is a breath of fresh air in a chaotic political environment which we live in,” Knisely said.

Danforth also criticized the reduced power of Congress as an institution and the rise of personalities who prioritize headlines over substance and compromise.

“Congress has been so diminished. And when it’s diminished, the members of Congress therefore aren’t institutionalists, they’re personalities,” Danforth said. “Their job is to put out stuff on social media or get on Fox News or CNN or whatever … It’s performative.”

Each senator proposed different solutions to the audience throughout the discussion. Bradley emphasized the need for campaign finance reform and ending gerrymandering. Danforth, meanwhile, encouraged the audience to vote in primary elections and to “show up” to face politicians in town halls.

“Don’t just vote on policies,” Danforth said. “Policies are fungible. Policies come and policies go. Vote on character.”

Danforth, an ordained Episcopal priest, also said that he believed religious congregations could play an important role in bringing people together.

“In your personal lives, reach out to people who are different,” Danforth said. “We’re in silos right now.” 

The event ended on a spontaneous note with Danforth pointing out that Bradley had started taking singing lessons. Bradley then closed with a rendition of Van Morrison’s “Down To Joy” with the audience clapping along.

Many students in attendance found the senators’ perspectives refreshing, including first-year Will Benjamin.

“I feel like the message of unification and trying to bridge gaps is so important right now,” Benjamin said.

Danforth and Bradleys’ close bipartisan relationship embodied their unifying message to the audience. Throughout the conversation, the two senators exchanged stories and memories from their time together in office. Bradley recounted Danforth welcoming him to the Senate when he was elected. Danforth recalled the last vote he ever took in the Senate before his retirement and Bradley crossing the aisle to stand with him as he cast his vote.