Evan Bayh: How We Can Fix the Senate

Evan Bayh thinks the Senate is so hopelessly mired in partisan muck that the only way out is for Democrats and Republicans to break bread together. "Let’s start with a simple proposal: why not have a monthly lunch of all 100 senators?" he writes in a New York Times op-ed headlined "Why I'm Leaving the Senate." He suggests the parties pick one topic to talk about, "absent the posturing and public talking points," as a way to improve "the personal chemistry" among senators.

Once the wheels are greased, they can move on to thornier problems such as the abuse of the filibuster and a campaign financing system that requires "perpetual campaigns," he writes. In the bigger picture, "our most strident partisans must learn to occasionally sacrifice short-term tactical political advantage for the sake of the nation. Otherwise, Congress will remain stuck in an endless cycle of recrimination and revenge."
(More Evan Bayh stories.)