Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I ask the question in this blog headline based on my 40 years in and around government in Oregon, as well as my position as someone interested in local, statewide, regional and national politics in my retirement years.

What happened to government and politics?

Well, the best answer is that Donald Trump took office for the second term and turned politics – at least national politics, if not politics around the states – on its head. 

Compromise. 

Agreement. 

Consensus. 

They appear no longer to exist.

It used to be that persons who disagreed could find a way to work with each other.  I call this “the ability to disagree agreeably.”

At the Capitol in Salem where I was a lobbyist for 25 years, it often was the case that, when legislators disagreed as they considered pieces of legislation in committee or on the floors of the House and Senate, they then put aside those disagreements to have dinner together after hours.

Today?

No longer.

Disagreements often produce invective, name-calling, and hatred, even at the Capitol in Salem where minority Republicans chafe under majority Democrat control.

Democrats have not found a way to work with Republicans.  Reverse it and the same is true.

If someone disagrees with you, it is likely that you and they go into hate mode.

Even though it’s true that the best solutions to public policy challenges usually lie somewhere in the middle, not on either the right or left extreme.

Rather than just reinforce my long-time admiration for the “middle ground” (as stated in the introduction to this blog), I decided to turn to Mr. Google for more information this morning.  Here is what I found:

“Compromise in modern politics is essential for functioning democracy, yet it is increasingly rare due to high polarization and incentives that favor partisan brinkmanship over negotiation.

“While a 2025 Gallup poll shows 47 per cent of Americans favor leaders compromising to achieve results, political, ideological, and voter pressures frequently lead to legislative gridlock. 

“Many Americans may support compromise in principle, but this often conflicts with a desire for leaders to stick to strict partisan principles.”

Of course, normal partisan differences always play a role, but for me, partisanship should not rule the day.  Campaigning for office in the next election is different from governing. 

High-stakes political environments and fear of primary election punishments lead many lawmakers to adopt what has been called an “uncompromising mindset,” which is characterized by tenacity to one’s own point-of-view, as well as mistrust of the opposing party.

So, I say, now as many times before, “compromise” is not a dirty word.  And I hope it returns soon to politics.  If or when it does, we’ll all be better for it.

Let me add this conclusion.  I used to trust government, even as those in government made mistakes.  Today, I am not sure that you can trust anything done, especially at the federal level under Trump.

He and those who work for him want what’s best for themselves, not for the country.  They lie to get what they want.  And, if they win, so much the better.  Today, I am not sure that trust is possible any longer.