Two political scientists – one a Democrat and one a Republican – will come together at Missouri State University Wednesday, April 9, to discuss the topic “Trump’s America: A Nation at a Crossroads?”
Charles Kesler is a government professor at Claremont McKenna College and a Claremont Institute Senior Fellow.
William Galston is a Brookings Institution senior fellow and served as advisor to President Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidates.
KSMU was unable to schedule an interview with Kesler due to his travel schedule.
Galston said he and Kesler have common ground — they both revere the U.S. Constitution, and they believe in the rule of law and in the system of checks and balances, even though they might have different understandings of those things. He hopes their conversation will focus on what they’ve learned about what he called the most urgent questions facing the country.
Reporter: What do you think those most urgent questions are?
Galston replied, "well, really, the future of the constitutional order, which is not in good repair. I think most people are aware of the fact that the Congress of the United States is less effective than it used to be and much less effective than the founders designed it to be and that has led to an expansion of both executive power and judicial power, and that's a problem for the country."
Galston said there are fears that the system of ordered liberty that’s been created over a period of more than two centuries may be eroding.
Part of what he hopes to discuss in Springfield, he said, is: what are the biggest issues that have led to such a divided America and what the prospects are of resolving them?
"I mean, it's, you know, this is not like 1860. There's no neat geographical line that separates one side from the other. You know, there are millions of blue citizens in red states and red citizens in blue states," he said. "It's like a marble cake. However you cut it, you're going to get some of both, and so we have to live together in the same space, and the question is how best to do that given given the issues that now divide the country?"
The talk, "Trump’s America: A National at a Crossroads?" sponsored by the MO State Philosophy and Political Science Department, will be held Wednesday afternoon at 4 in Glass Hall Room 101 at Missouri State University.