On Tuesday, November 13, former Vermont Governor and 2004 U.S. presidential candidate, Howard Dean, and Elise Jordan, former speech writer under the Bush Administration, Time contributor, and MSNBC analyst, traveled to Penn State Behrend to debate.

​

Although posed to be on opposite ends, Dean and Jordan were able to meet a middle ground with regards to many of the issues brought forward by Erie native Steve Scully, the moderator of the debate, and who is known as “The Most Patient Man on Television” and the senior executive producer and political editor for the C-SPAN.

​

Before the debate, Dean and Jordan sat down for an interview with the Behrend Beacon and discussed issues on the minds of many Americans, especially in the wake of the midterm elections.

​

“It wasn’t a blue wave. I’ve been calling it a blue tornado,” said Jordan. She further explained how there are very clear areas of the country that are blue and very clear parts that are red. This, looking forward to 2020, is very important for both parties to understand. “What is it going to take for Democrats to break out of the suburbs?” Jordan asked, further explaining that this cultural and political divide has been looked at through the lense of where Whole Foods are located.

​

In addressing the midterm elections, Dean focused more on the role that young people are playing in shaping what politics looked like in 2018 and how the game is changing moving forward.

​

“It was great for the Democrats. And the reason it was great was not just because we picked up a lot of seats in state legislatures and governors and congress. The reason it was great is because young people are the future of this country and they’re basically in the process of taking over the democratic party,” Dean explained. He also emphasized that young people’s values focus more on human values and human rights, as opposed to strongly defending an ideology. “We have a ways to go, but this was a huge first step. All this stuff was not done by old folks in Washington, it was done by all these young people who knocked on everybody’s door and ran for office. The average age of congress dropped 10 years in this election. That’s extraordinary.”

​

Jordan, a lifelong Republican, explained that she fell away from the party when they put their support and money behind Roy Moore’s campaign, even after multiple credible allegations of sexual assault. She also talked about how Trump has influenced the party. In her podcast “Words Matter” that she co-hosts with Steve Schmidt, the first episode after the midterms discussed a “Constitutional Crisis.” She commented on this during her time at Behrend.

​

“You look at what Donald Trump is doing with his newly appointed leader at the justice department, and there is a pretty strong argument that that is unconstitutional,” Jordan explained. “And are Republicans actually going to oppose bringing in a political hack who is just going to give a rubber stamp to whatever you want at a department that is supposed to be about upholding rule of law for all Americans, not for Donald Trump? Yes, I do think we are in a constitutional crisis right now.”

​

When asked whether we are in a Constitutional Crisis, Dean gave a resounding no, but took a different perspective on the issue.

​

“I think human rights is deeply ingrained in the Constitution and that’s not going to change,” said Dean, “and if it does the country will die, but I don’t think we’re quite ready for that.”

​

Dean, at 70 years old, is very clear that young people need to take the political torch and run with it. “I think our generation has to pass from the scene, and I’ve been saying this for two or three years,” he explained. “We need to coach you guys into doing it yourself and you need to invent your own way of doing politics and that’s going to happen.”

​

He also expressed that young people are fundamentally different from their predecessors. “My view is that your generation is actually going to work with each other, you’re less ideological than we are, and more interested in practicality of results. That is going to be very important to the future of the country, but first we have to get ourselves there.”

​

Jordan, who is part of the Millennial generation, expressed the sentiment that Dean described.

​

“I see the country moving forward because more people want to get along and work together and see progress than they do wanting to fight,” she explained. Jordan also drew on her recent experience in working with focus groups all over the country that consist of people from varying backgrounds and perspectives. “American voters are really hungry for leaders who are going to work together...and get things done.”

​

Finally, when asked about the future of the country, both Dean and Jordan had a positive outlook.

​

“As Donald Trump fails to deliver anything but meanness and rancor, I do think that...there is going to be a unifying moment in the future,” said Jordan. “Maybe not as soon as would be desirable, but it’s going to come because I have faith in America and American people.”

​

“The next generation has to take over and that’s what’s happening now and I think that’s a very good thing for the country,” Dean reiterated.

​

Especially during a time when divisiveness is a common theme surrounding political dialogue, Dean and Jordan’s perspectives give an insight into how political discourse can be civil and respectful.