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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is taking his message of civility in politics to a national audience, encouraging his fellow governors to set the example of what healthy disagreement looks like.
Cox was elected as the chairman of the National Governors Association and will lead the bipartisan organization for the next year. He unveiled his chair's initiative, called Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy, at the closing session of the association's annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
"The course that we are on right now as Americans is unsustainable in an increasingly fragile democracy," Cox said, adding that political leaders can't solve any of the issues facing the country if they remain divided and continue to feel "contempt" for the other side.
Although many regular Americans remain divided, Cox said governors and other leaders can set an example of better disagreement that can eventually change the culture.
"I truly believe if we are ever going to find our better angels again, it has to start with us," he said.
He challenged each member of the National Governors Association to run political ads with members of the opposite party in their state and unveiled a video he filmed with Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who was elected to serve as the association's vice chairman over the next year.
Politicians have been giving Americans permission to hate each other. It's up to us to give Americans permission to care for each other again, and that's what we're trying to accomplish.
– Utah Gov. Spencer Cox
Cox made headlines in 2020 when he released a similar video calling for decency along with Chris Peterson, his Democratic opponent in that year's gubernatorial race.
"Healthy disagreement means not assuming that the other side is deluded, misinformed or actively trying to overthrow America," Cox said.
"A little respect and curiosity keeps resentment off the dinner table," Polis added.
An "exhausted majority" of Americans are ready to move past the "ugliness of our politics today," Cox said, and governors are some of the "last adults in the room" who can help change politics for the better.
What is Disagree Better?
As chairman, Cox is providing governors from across the nation with toolkits that can be customized for the various needs of different states. Along with recording an ad with a neighboring governor from a different party, a legislator from the opposing party, or a campaign opponent, the National Governors Association website includes the following strategies:
- Host a service project within your communities, potentially with your state Legislature and their spouses from both sides of the aisle.
- Record a brief civic education ad, explaining that our nation's founding and the Constitution were designed for people from different backgrounds and with different views.
- Write an op-ed with someone from the other party on a topic of common good.
- Host a debate at a college or university that models healthy conflict to future generations, including in partnership with organizations like Braver Angels and Bridge USA.
The goal of the initiative is to over time "spark" a change in political culture that will not only influence national political campaigns, but trickle down to effect state, county and municipal politics, Cox said.
First Lady Abby Cox will lead a series of service projects at each National Governors Association meeting throughout the next year.
"The reason that service is such a big part of our initiative is because it does bring people together," she said in a video. "When we look out and see the vulnerable populations, we know that the only way to help is to bring everybody together.
"It's also a way to create empathy. What matters is that you're seeing somebody as a human. You're seeing connection with that person and you're working together to build up the community."
Not just a civility initiative
Throughout his speech and a news conference afterward, Cox repeatedly emphasized that he doesn't see Disagree Better as "just another civility initiative," that's about promoting kindness and good vibes.
"The fluffy stuff is important — don't get me wrong — but that is not this. You see, our nation was founded on profound disagreement, healthy disagreement," he said. "I want us to disagree ... but there's a right way to do that and a wrong way to do it. We can disagree without hating each other. We can look to build others and not tear each other down."
And the goal of his initiative isn't to have politicians and voters compromise or find middle ground on everything, but to have more respect for those they don't agree with.
"Be curious, ask questions," Polis said. "If you still disagree, that's OK. But you might find that you aren't as far apart as you think."
Measuring success
Cox admitted that the initiative won't change politics overnight, because there's a "permission structure" in broader culture that often rewards polarization and negativity.
"Politics is always downstream of culture. We're trying to help culture improve, and we can do that," he said. "Politicians have been giving Americans permission to hate each other. It's up to us to give Americans permission to care for each other again, and that's what we're trying to accomplish."
As America enters what is expected to be a contentious presidential campaign in 2024, Cox said he hopes his message will stand out.
"I think that kind of toxic disagreement that's happening at the national level actually ... helps elevate our platform and what we're trying to do," he said. "And our hopes is that as voters demand more civility and more dignity ... from the candidates, that more and more candidates will respond."
