What does being a problem-solver voter mean?

Submitted by Jack McCullough on June 15, 2012
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Problem-Solver's Daily
Jeb Bush
mayors
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Problem-Solving Voter

DEFINING A VOTER: Soccer moms and NASCAR dads are a thing of the past. These days, it's all about the problem-solving voter. Problem-solving voters care about solutions and getting Washington to stop fighting and start fixing. "Problem-solving voters recognize that the magnitude of challenges facing our country are too serious for a continuation of the partisan bickering and gridlock that has dominated our politics for too long." Mark McKinnon for No Labels: The Problem-Solving Voter

COMMON SENSE LESSON: Jeb Bush had a headline-grabbing trip to Washington this week, and his main argument was correct, Michael Gerson writes in The Washington Post. "The debt crisis is an existential threat to the American way of life. Addressing this vast structural problem will require a grand bargain that includes entitlement reform and higher revenue. Those who rule out the possibility of compromise as a matter of ideology are undermining the public interest."Michael Gerson for The Washington Post: Jeb Bush at the circus

THEIR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY: On Wednesday harsh rhetoric flew between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over the proposed Highway Bill. One member of Congress called his colleagues "militants, radicals, extremists." This partisan name-calling will not pass a highway bill: Nathan Hurst for CQ: Highway Negotiations Bog Down

A TEST: The Senate Finance Committee is working on a bill to extend certain tax breaks known to the business community prior to Election Day. The potential agreement is viewed by some as a test to see if future solutions can be created in a partisan Congress during an election year: Manu Raju and John Bresnahan for POLITICO: Business tax negotiations get serious

DO YOUR JOB SO WE CAN DO OURS: That's what mayors of America's cities said to Congress at the annual mayors conference in Orlando. Local government budgets depend in large part on the federal spending decisions Congress makes. If Congress doesn't make the tough decisions, mayors can't do what is necessary to help their cities: Alexandria Baca and Mark Schlueb: for The Orlando Sentinel: Mayors demand action, not bickering, from Congress

WHO DECIDES? Much has been discussed about how firefighters, police officers and teachers could be potentially impacted by either President Obama or Governor Mitt Romney's economic plans. However, state and local governments may have more say in the matter than the federal government: Blair Forlaw for PolicyMic: Obama and Romney Are Not the Deciders on Teachers, Firefighters, and Police

ACTION OF THE DAY: Forward this email to three friends. Ask them to click here to subscribe to get a problem-solver's take on the news.

STAT OF THE DAY: Only 25 percent of Americans consider economic circumstances in the United States to be good or excellent: Frank Newport for Gallup: Americans Upbeat About Local Economy, Down on the World

Written & edited by Collin Berglund, Lauren Gilbert, John Thornburgh and Jack McCullough

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