Make some policy love this Valentine’s Day

It’s no secret that the days of bipartisan unions such as the one between Mary Matalin and James Carville are few and far between. Ever-increasing polarization has made dating someone from “the other side” a virtual non-starter. In large part because of the impact of former President Trump, a Generational Lab/Axios survey found that 71 percent of young Democrats say they wouldn’t date a Republican, which mirrors a Pew Research Center finding from 2020 that 71 percent of single Democrats wouldn’t consider a romantic relationship with a Trump voter.

It’s unlikely that some shared policy preferences are enough to make a marriage work, but on this Valentine’s Day we thought it’d be worthwhile to highlight that there’s still a lot that unites, rather than divides, Americans. Some areas of agreement: mitigating climate change, pushing for gun control, providing access to health care, and limiting insider stock trading for elected officials.

We know it sounds impossible that Republicans and Democrats could come together on these or other tricky policy areas, but let us explain. There’s hope, we promise.

Though a topic that often leads to some high-octane disagreement, since Democrats and Republicans differ on whether climate change is truly an emergency, the reality is that the American public agrees the threat of climate change must be addressed and there needs to be real, substantive action on the part of the government. A recent Pew survey found that 79 percent want alternative sources of energy to be a priority, 78 percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Democrats support giving businesses a tax credit for carbon capture or storage, and 64 percent of Republicans and 93 percent of Democrats favor tougher restrictions on carbon emissions. And overall, 60 percent of American adults say that climate change is very or extremely important for the federal government to address. Plenty to agree upon there! 

Health care always has been a lightning-rod issue, and even more so since former President Obama’s Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010. But one area of health care where there’s widespread agreement is Medicare, the perennially popular health plan for older Americans. Not only do Democrats and Republicans really like Medicare and want it to be expanded, a majority (52 percent) think the eligibility age should be lowered from 65 to 60. What’s more, 68 percent of voters support a public health insurance option, which includes 80 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Republicans. That’s a significant level of overlap. 

Gun control is actually one of the areas of greatest agreement among the American populace; it’s just that many Republicans would never let us know that. Sixty-four percent of Americans support stricter gun control laws in the United States. Eighty-four percent of voters, including 77 percent of Republicans, support background checks being extended to all gun sales. Eighty-three percent of respondents want people who are flagged by mental health professionals as unstable to be prevented from owning guns; 76 percent support banning people on federal watch lists from owning guns; and 70 percent back the creation of a national database. Further, nearly 50 percent support closing the “Charleston loophole,” compared to 38 percent who oppose the change. Clearly, there’s lots of bipartisan harmony there.

And there are a lot of reasons that explain why congressional approval is so low, but there’s one practice in particular that surely contributes to Americans’ disdain for their representatives, no matter their party. Recent polling shows that 75 percent of voters agree that members of Congress shouldn’t be able to trade stocks while in office. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they believe the practice gives lawmakers and their spouses an “unfair advantage.” With 55 members failing to properly disclose their financial transactions, and only miniscule fines for these violations, it’s clear that something more must be done — and members of both parties agree on that. 

There’s certainly more fodder for bipartisan conversation and agreement, such as providing universal pre-K and extending the child tax credit. But for now, we’ll leave our case at that.

Maybe a date spent discussing policy positions doesn’t sound ideal (outside of the Beltway). But on a day that’s all about coming together, and being together, it’s nice to think that anything is possible. And who knows, maybe Washington will pay attention to these shared interests and get something bipartisan done. 

Jessica Tarlov is head of research at Bustle Digital Group and a Fox News contributor. She earned her Ph.D. at the London School of Economics in political science. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaTarlov.

Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC, a CBS News political contributor, and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way. Follow him on Twitter @antjuansea.