It’s transpartisanship

Phrases pop up every election cycle to describe the mood of the country, or which demographic will carry Election Day.

There have been “Soccer Moms” and “NASCAR Dads.” And who could forget “Reagan Democrats”?

But now, thanks to the disgusting environment in Washington, D.C., and to new movements catching fire regardless of political affiliation, the new label du jour is “transpartisan.”

To find this kind of tranny, you don’t need to scour the classifieds in CityLife.

Former Clinton White House spokesman Mike McCurry was in town this week to draw attention to the ONE campaign’s Global Day to End Poverty. McCurry suggests it’s only natural for a grass-roots campaign such as ONE to catch fire nationally and enter the political discourse.

“There’s a connection to national politics,” McCurry said during a roundtable chat with media at the offices of R&R Partners. “There’s a hunger for some kind of transpartisan environment that gets beyond the polarization and bitterness. … It’s really creating an environment where people want to go.”

ONE is the national campaign to fight global disease and extreme poverty. The coalition of more than 100 humanitarian organizations is the brainchild of U2 singer Bono. There are roughly 18,000 members in Nevada. There are Democrats such as R&R boss Billy Vassiliadis and Rep. Shelley Berkley, and Republicans such as consultant Sig Rogich and Rep. Jon Porter.

Members wear black T-shirts or white wristbands. Some just wear the issue on their sleeves. They show up at each event featuring a presidential candidate. Sometimes they ask questions. Sometimes they’re in the picture. In Iowa recently, John McCain plucked a ONE member from the crowd to join him in a discussion.

There’s a growing presence at UNLV, and ONE even has high school chapters in Nevada. “We’re really seeing some momentum building and some real interest,” said McCurry, who as a consultant has worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on global poverty and disease projects.

The awakening around the issue stretches from Hollywood to the faith community, in part because it is truly bipartisan. Bleeding-heart liberals and neoconservatives worried about Islamic fundamentalism are both on board.

“On the Republican side, it’s about our own national interest,” McCurry said. “For Democrats it’s more about the moral standing and saving lives.”

ONE won’t be endorsing in the presidential caucuses or in any election. It hopes to raise the issue and then hold elected officials accountable, much in the way Bono’s group in Europe dogs the EU. Eventually, McCurry hopes the issue becomes as politically potent as it is in Europe.

“Do I see Candidate X attacking Candidate Y because they’re soft on malaria?” McCurry posed. “Maybe.”

Some candidates are running with the issue. On the Democratic side, John Edwards has tied the issue into his own campaign to end domestic poverty. On the Republican side, it dovetails perfectly with minister Mike Huckabee’s social conservativism.

Vassiliadis, who hosted the roundtable Tuesday, suggested it would be great to have a real debate about which policies to enact to combat global poverty or disease. “That would displace MoveOn.org vs. Rush Limbaugh on the Senate floor,” he added.

Both Vassiliadis and McCurry took a little advantage Tuesday of having the floor without any Republicans present. Rogich was out of town and Jack Oliver, co-chair of the ONE campaign and a Bush strategist, hadn’t made the trip West with McCurry.

McCurry, who is supporting Hillary Clinton, said ONE can restore America’s global reputation. “This is subliminally an answer to the angst that we feel about Iraq,” McCurry said. “There’s a notion that we can put a good foot forward.”

Vassiliadis, who supports Barack Obama, said America is no longer “the idol” of the world. “One of the things that this is about is getting Americans to feel good again,” he suggested.

It might actually go beyond transpartisan to transgenerational. McCurry said the ONE campaign is drawing younger voters, particularly those in the 25 to 45 range.

And while candidates still dote on baby boomers and their issues, future elections could see the emergence of young voters with allegiances only to an issue. “There’s some sense now that you baby boomers have had a whole generation and two presidents,” McCurry said.

So maybe ONE is the kind of movement that can salvage aging hippies and jump-start young idealists at the same time. Oh yeah, and save 15,000 lives a day. It would be nice to know children didn’t die of dysentery while you read this. But they did.

There may come a time when bipartisan differences infiltrate ONE’s coalitions. Do we send condoms with the AIDS drugs, for example? Is aid available only by skirting the United Nations or privatizing the distribution?

For now, it’s as simple as this: A bed net costs $5 and can keep a child from dying from a mosquito bite.

If this is the real incarnation of transpartisanism, watch it. Someday it may be a party.

Contact columnist Erin Neff at eneff@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2906.