Gingrich, Dean talk bipartisan cooperation at Judson forum

Two former presidential candidates at opposite ends of the American political spectrum urged seeing the other side as human rather than the enemy Thursday during Judson University's seventh-annual World Leaders Forum.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean spoke about bipartisan leadership in divided times, the potential power of millennials and youthful frustration over how the system works. It marked the first time since 2011 that Gingrich and Dean had shared a stage.

Ahead of the Elgin university's signature fundraising event, the duo participated in a discussion with local, regional and statewide elected officials on changing the climate of rancor and partisanship in American politics, Judson President Gene Crume said.

Dean, a Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, said he supports President Donald Trump's move to impose stricter work requirements for those who benefit from social welfare programs.

"People become dependent if you allow them to be more dependent than they need to be," Dean said. "I found, as a relatively liberal Democrat, that there are some (Republican) ideas worth pursuing. The nature of partisanship demonizes the opposition. That's deliberate. It's a mistake."

Dean served as the governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003. He said it's easy for politicians to get caught up in their own self-importance.

"We need an earthquake in Washington," he said, foreseeing a shake-up in Congress after midterm elections in November. "These folks are not representative of what's going on in the country. Leadership is getting your people to do something they don't want to do."

Gingrich, who served as the House's minority whip and its 50th speaker, said the Founding Fathers deliberately designed a political system that forces both sides to work together and makes dictatorship impossible.

A Republican presidential candidate in 2012, Gingrich said he abides by two rules: "listen, learn, help and lead, in that order" and "cheerful persistence."

"If people know you will listen to them, learn from them, and help them, they will ask you to lead," he said. "There is a general rule - if you are cheerful, it is amazing what you can get away with because Americans appreciate someone who is cheerful."

Both men spoke about the power of millennials and youth to have an impact on political discourse and urged them to get involved.

"Results are more important to them than ideology," Dean said. "This generation is more respectful of each other. We are at the tail end of the culture wars. I think this generation is going to be more socially tolerant. Voting is not enough. We want you to run for office. Local office in many ways is the most important."

Dean likened Trump's election to the French Revolution because people rose up to elect someone very different from previous presidents.

"Politics works ... it is a process that is not always nice," he said. "History is about building institutions that can work around the awful parts of us. The core problem with this generation is that they have so much individual power that they don't value institutions. They have enormous power, but what we need now is long-term commitment."

Gingrich addressed youthful apathy toward politics and frustration with how the system works.

"If you really think politics doesn't matter, look at Venezuela, Cuba, Syria ... when politics breaks down, people suffer," Gingrich said. "The ability to organize, work with and to effectively lead people is really hard and complicated.

"If the younger generation is willing to make that kind of commitment, they can break through in ways that's really important."

Judson's forum has featured several world leaders: former President George W. Bush, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Mexican President Felipe Calderón, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Queen Noor of Jordan.

Forum proceeds support entrepreneurial programs and initiatives and scholarships at the university.