by contributor Jacqueline Lynch
The Eisenhower Institute hosted Oklahoma’s Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards as he spoke to friends, peers and Gettysburg College students about his new book “The Parties Versus the People: How to turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans.” (shown above)
Growing up idolizing the founding fathers, Edwards was “fascinated by the idea of America. I couldn’t think of any time in life when I didn’t want to be a Congressman.”
He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1958 and moved onto working in the Public Relations industry. However, he discovered politics were his true passion. ” I love Congress, I love this country, and I understood Congress is where the power is.”
After working as a Congressman for sixteen years, he was frustrated by the constant tension between the Democratic and Republican parties. “Watching Congress, watching how the Democrats and Republicans couldn’t agree on anything, I knew we couldn’t function that way as a democracy.”
His new book focuses on how America as a nation, despite which party you are affiliated with, needs to come together for the greater good of society.
But will Democrats and Republicans ever agree? According to Edwards, “they can if we force them to.”
