The Middle Path: Why America Needs Problem-Solvers, Not Partisan Soldiers

 There is quiet exhaustion rippling through the heart of this country. It's an unspoken weariness not with politics itself, but with the performance of it. With the theatre. With the rage-for-hire class that makes headlines out of every disagreement and reduces citizenship to a team sport. 

We are asked, relentlessly, to pick a side. But what if the side worth choosing isn't on the map?

The political parties in America were once organizing tools. Today, they function more like identities complete with uniforms, slogans, and approved lists of enemies. And like all strong identities, they demand loyalty first and thoughtfulness last.

Turn on the news: nuance is gone. Compromise is betrayal. Reflection is weakness. And moral conviction is measured not by depth, but by volume.

We have replaced deliberation with combat. Our discourse is no longer about finding what's true or workable, but about proving the other side is dangerous, evil, or stupid.

And in this binary battlefield, pragmatism–the practice of solving problems based on evidence rather than ideology–has become a casualty.

This is not how America was meant to work.

James Madison envisioned a republic governed by tension and compromise, not purity. He believed that factional conflict could be a feature, not a flaw, so long as it produced negotiation and prevented tyranny.

And for a long time, that system functioned.

• Reagan and Tip O'Neill disagreed on almost everything, yet reformed Social Security together.
• Clinton and Gingrich, political enemies, passed welfare reform in the 1990s.
• John McCain and Russ Feingold, from opposite sides of the aisle, crafted bipartisan campaign finance reform.

These were not ideological victories. They were governance victories. Our politics is so dominated by the election cycle that governance has become an afterthought.

But what made these moments possible? A shared belief that doing something was better than doing nothing–and that progress is often the product of negotiation, not purity.

Today, politics feels like religion without grace. It tells you who to hate, what to say, and where your salvation lies–usually in a personality or party platform.

The problem is not just that this poisons relationships. The deeper issue is that it produces bad governance.

• We ignore immigration reform not because we lack ideas, but because neither side can afford to let the other win.
• We refuse to rein in spending or reform entitlements because it might upset the base.
• We talk endlessly about "saving democracy" but treat disagreement like heresy.

All the while, our institutions drift, our debt grows, our trust erodes, and our capacity to act like a functioning republic slips.

To be clear, pragmatism is not weakness...

To value compromise is not  to abandon conviction.

It is to understand that solving real-world problems like healthcare, border policy, education, energy, all requires more than slogans. It requires tradeoffs. Risk. Humility. The ability to say, "You may be right."

And it requires leaders–and citizens–willing to prize solutions over victory.

There is a deep hunger in this country for that kind of politics. A kind not obsessed with ideological coherence, but with practical competence. That builds bridges without denying differences. That says "What works?" before it says "What's popular?"

Let me be clear: I'm not arguing for milquetoast centrism. The middle path isn't just a halfway point between two extremes. It is a higher ground where reason, evidence and conscience meet.

It is where you can be fiscally conservative and socially traditional–yet still believe in reforming policing or expanding childcare. It's where you can support gun rights and still demand universal background checks. It's where you can say: I love this country too much to let bad ideas win just because they come from my side.

Politics is not supposed to be entertainment. It's supposed to be the mechanism by which a free people governs itself wisely. And that requires adults in the room.

We need to stop rewarding outrage and start rewarding competence.

We need to stop sharing what makes us angry and start amplifying what moves us toward understanding.

And we need to demand more from our leaders–not just party tribalism, but results.

This country doesn't need tribal leaders or warriors. It needs builders.