Political discourse in America is increasingly marked by partisan and ideological disagreements, a widening gulf of opposing, entrenched worldviews that threatens to undermine the basic foundations of democracy.
At the highest level, portions of the federal government have been shuttered for more than three weeks—the longest shutdown in U.S. history—while leaders and lawmakers engage in a back-and-forth border wall debate, seemingly with no end in sight.
But divided government need not be dysfunctional government. That is the hopeful lesson from a handful of states that have elected popular governors whose political party differs from that of the majority party in their respective state legislatures.
Three such governors—Maryland Republican Larry Hogan, Pennsylvania Democrat Tom Wolf, and New Hampshire Republican Chris Sununu—will visit Baltimore’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 for a discussion of how they propose working with their opposing-party legislatures and what is unique about their respective states.
The event, Divided Nation, United States, will be sponsored by Johns Hopkins University’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute and presented by PBS NewsHour, which will broadcast the discussion live online as part of its NewsHour LIVE programming series. PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff will moderate the conversation.