Disagreement is patriotic. Obstruction is not. America works when its leaders work together.
American politics has become a blood sport where the goal isn’t to govern—it’s to destroy the other side. Both parties have decided that demonizing their opponents is more profitable than working with them, and the result is a government that can’t pass a budget, can’t fix infrastructure, and can’t address a single major problem facing the country without turning it into a partisan cage match.
The Common Sense Party believes this is the single most destructive force in American politics today. Not any one policy disagreement—but the complete breakdown in the ability of elected officials to treat each other like colleagues instead of enemies, and to work across the aisle to get common-sense legislation passed.
Here’s what obstruction has actually cost America: the national debt grows by $8 billion a day while both parties blame each other instead of cutting a deal. Infrastructure crumbles because neither side will give the other a “win.” Immigration policy hasn’t been meaningfully updated in decades because compromise is treated as surrender. Social Security is heading toward insolvency while Congress does nothing because fixing it would require bipartisan cooperation—and bipartisan cooperation would require acknowledging that the other side has legitimate ideas.
The American people lose every single time their elected officials choose partisan warfare over problem-solving. And both parties are guilty. Republicans refuse to work with Democrats on principle. Democrats refuse to work with Republicans on principle. And the principle in both cases is the same: the other side must lose, even if America loses with them.
This isn’t governance. It’s a hostage situation where the hostage is the American public.
The Common Sense Party doesn’t just talk about bipartisanship—it’s built into our DNA. We’re not trying to replace the two major parties. We’re trying to be the bridge between them. We will actively work with both Democrats and Republicans to identify common-sense legislation that has broad support and actually pass it into law.
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize: there are dozens of bills sitting in Congress right now that have bipartisan support from a majority of members in both chambers. They don’t get voted on because party leadership won’t bring them to the floor. The incentive structure rewards obstruction—a Speaker or Majority Leader who lets the other party share a legislative win risks their own position. Kevin McCarthy was removed from the speakership for the crime of keeping the government open with Democratic support.
We intend to break that cycle. Common Sense candidates will work with whoever has the best idea on a given issue, regardless of party label. If a Republican has a smart approach to reducing regulatory burden on small businesses, we’ll back it. If a Democrat has a solid plan for expanding healthcare access without blowing up the deficit, we’ll back that too. We don’t care which jersey someone is wearing. We care whether the idea works.
Civility doesn’t mean being soft. It means being disciplined enough to attack policies instead of people. Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill savaged each other’s proposals and then shared a drink after 6 p.m. They managed to save Social Security and pass landmark tax reform because they understood that their job was to govern, not to perform for cable news.
Today, a member of Congress who reaches across the aisle risks a primary challenge from their own party. A senator who votes for a bipartisan bill gets attacked by their own base. The incentive structure has been completely inverted: cooperation is punished and obstruction is rewarded. Until we fix that, nothing in Washington will change.
We believe civility is a prerequisite for functional democracy. You can disagree passionately—in fact, passionate disagreement is the engine of democratic progress. But the moment you turn your political opponent into a personal enemy, you’ve made compromise impossible. And without compromise, a country of 330 million people with wildly different views simply cannot be governed.
Common Sense candidates commit to the following principles of civic engagement:
No personal attacks. Criticize policies, proposals, and voting records all day long. But character assassination, name-calling, and ad hominem attacks are off the table. If your argument can’t stand on its merits without tearing down the person on the other side, your argument isn’t strong enough.
Credit where it’s due. When the other party has a good idea, say so publicly. The fear of giving the “other side” credit is one of the most childish dynamics in modern politics, and we refuse to participate in it.
Bipartisan co-sponsorship. Actively seek out co-sponsors from the other party on legislation. A bill with both Republican and Democratic sponsors sends a powerful signal that adults are still in the room.
Open-door meetings. Meet regularly with members of both parties to find areas of agreement. Not photo ops—real working sessions where legislation gets drafted and deals get made.
Honest disagreement. When we disagree, we’ll explain why with evidence and reasoning. No straw-man arguments. No misrepresenting the other side’s position. Treat every opponent’s view with enough respect to argue against what they actually believe, not a caricature of it.
A third party that actively works with both sides has a unique advantage: we have no tribal loyalty to protect. We don’t have to worry about whether backing a Republican bill will anger our Democratic donors, or vice versa. Our only obligation is to the common sense of the position itself.
That freedom is powerful. It means we can be the honest broker in a room full of partisans. We can be the vote that breaks the gridlock. We can be the coalition partner that both sides need but neither side controls. And we can model for the rest of Washington what governance looks like when you put results ahead of party loyalty.
Reagan and O’Neill did it. The question isn’t whether bipartisan governance is possible—it’s whether we have the courage and the will to demand it again.
Want the full story? Our Return to Civility page explores how Reagan & O’Neill, John Wayne, and the McCarthy ouster illustrate what America has lost—and what we can get back.
Read Return to Civility →