There were two main takeaways at this year’s Fahrenkopf-Manatt lecture. First, despite discouraging polarization and moves toward autocracy, it is possible to be optimistic about the resilience of democracy in the United States and about the chances of a return to political bipartisanship. And second, there is a great deal of energy and interest at the George Washington University surrounding politics.
The Frank J. Fahrenkopf-Charles T. Manatt Lecture for 2023 consisted of three main parts: a talk given by Matthew Weil, executive director of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), was followed by a conversation between Weil and NBC’s chief political analyst, Charles “Chuck” Todd, ATT '90–’94, Hon. ’22. The evening concluded with questions from the audience.
The annual lecture is named in honor of donors Frank Fahrenkopf and the late Charles Manatt, J.D. ’62, Hon. ’08, who were longtime friends despite differing political affiliations. Fahrenkopf was chair of the Republican National Committee during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and Manatt was chair of the Democratic National Committee in the same period.
The lecture series is dedicated to highlighting how the nation’s business is advanced when relationships across the political divide are conducted with bipartisan civility. It is presented by the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), which offers a program focused on applied politics, within GW’s College of Professional Studies (CPS).
Liesl Riddle, dean of CPS, gave brief welcoming and closing remarks. Michele Manatt, daughter of Charles Manatt and a member of the GSPM Board of Advisors, introduced the evening’s speakers.
Her father and Fahrenkopf, Manatt said, “had very different views on key issues facing the country, such as defense spending levels, welfare reform and supply-side economics. At the same time, they championed the integrity of the American electoral process and the architecture that supports it. They accepted election outcomes. Once the results were determined and announced, they called to congratulate the winner. They enjoyed spending time together, both publicly and privately.”
Weil began by acknowledging that the current state of U.S. politics does not show the country at its best, but he urged listeners not to withdraw.
“There’s a whole lot right now that doesn't feel right and seems unprecedented going on in our body politic,” Weil said. “And that can be discouraging. More than discouraging—it can be disengaging.”
Unfortunately, he added, there are malign actors within our political system that hope voters will disengage.
“A disengaged electorate and population, one that thinks the whole system is corrupt and unsalvageable, makes it even easier for laser-focused partisans to run roughshod over majority beliefs,” Weil said, “or simply to stand in the way of changes that address the most difficult issues.”
While he is optimistic about the resilience of American democracy, Weil said, it’s fair to ask if he is not delusional.
“I'll admit that American democracy is fragile,” he said, “but it always has been. At various points in our 247-year history, writers more eloquent than me have written the obituary of American democracy. And yet, even in the midst of the most recent political turbulence, the 117th Congress from 2021 to 2023 was the most productive Congress in a generation. It passed major bipartisan reforms.”
Another reason for optimism, he said, is the record levels of voter turnout in recent elections, which suggests that a high level of voter participation will continue. On the other hand, voter distrust in American institutions of government is at record lows.
“Now is the moment for those of you in this room to step up, to preserve what makes ours a multicultural, pluralistic society, and to continue to fight for the ongoing experiment that American democracy represents,” Weill said.
During the conversation part of the program, Todd emphasized the theme of bipartisanship by noting that Fahrenkopf and Manatt considered themselves Americans first, before they were Republican and Democrat.
“It’s sort of frustrating to have to say that,” Todd said, “because I don’t think some members of Congress today see themselves as an American first.”
Alluding to the reality that significant segments of the American population have been historically denied the right of democratic participation, Todd questioned Weil’s assertion that democracy in the United States is 247 years old.
“It’s fair to say we've been a multi-ethnic democracy for, let's say, 55 years,” Todd said, “going back to the Voting Rights Act of ’65.” That legislation prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
“I think that's right,” Weil said, noting that the way most of us define democracy today is not the same way it was defined historically. Nonetheless, he added, democracy in the United States is a unique experiment.
“There's certainly not another democracy anything like this,” Weil said. “I do think that our long history of having a government that is laid out by rules, by traditions and by precedents has worked for a very long time. You can argue whether or not it was serving every member of American society equally. It obviously was not. But I do think that for a long time, our Congress did work more productively, and a lot of that was based on precedents and not the actual written rules. And I think what we’re experiencing now that has made people so frustrated is because we're now exploiting the rules to more partisan ends.”
After a discussion of methods of drawing congressional districts, Todd asked Weil if Congress should be expanded in order to more effectively meet the needs of constituents.
“You can't do a lot of town halls when you have a million constituents,” Weil said. “There needs to be other ways of doing it.” He added that expanding the size of Congress might not be the answer, if technological solutions and other remedies could be applied.
After a discussion touching on several other topics, the floor was opened to questions from the audience. People asked about equal representation for residents of Washington, D.C.; the effects of social media on democracy; and whether Donald Trump should be allowed to run in the next election, among other topics.
Social media, Weil said, “has certainly made it a lot easier for Americans to stay exclusively in their echo chambers. So that is a problem.” It’s important, he added, to keep misinformation from overwhelming social media platforms.
As for whether Trump should be eligible to run for public office, Weil said there should be a ruling from a federal court or the U.S. Supreme Court on the matter as soon as possible, rather than leaving the decision up to individual states.
Riddle, the CPS dean, returned to the podium for brief closing remarks. She thanked the guest speakers and the audience as well as the staff members who worked on the event and the Fahrenkopf and Manatt families for making the evening possible.
“This is exactly the kind of thing that makes being at George Washington University, in the center of it all, so very special,” Riddle said.
