Disagree Better

Disagreeing Better In DC

The nation’s Governors gathered in Washington, DC, on February 22-24, for the 2024 National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Through the Disagree Better Initiative, Governors are joining forces to reduce partisan animosity and foster healthy debate by modeling a more positive and optimistic way of working through policy problems.

Prior to the meeting NGA Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox led several public forums in DC to speak with thought leaders representing academia, philanthropy, business and government about the good work already happening and the need for more Americans to engage with the initiative to help address toxic polarization in America.

Governor Cox opened the public meeting with an overview of the Initiative and the importance of reducing toxic polarization. Judge Thomas Griffith then moderated a conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett, who shared their perspectives on “How to Disagree Agreeably.” In a second plenary session. Frank Luntz met with Governors for a discussion on public opinion trends and offered his perspectives on the Disagree Better initiative.

See a full readout of Disagree Better sessions from the meeting.

Americans need to disagree better. And by that we don’t mean that we need to be nicer to each other, although that’s helpful. We need to learn to disagree in a way that allows us to find solutions and solve problems instead of endlessly bickering.

An “exhausted majority” of Americans want this, and the science is clear about interventions that reduce polarization. As doers and builders, Governors are in a unique position to model what healthy conflict looks like.

The Disagree Better initiative will look at the problems of polarization, elevate the solutions that groups around the country are already implementing, and feature Governors showing what disagreeing better looks like. Through public debates, service projects, public service announcements and a variety of other tactics, Americans will see a more positive and optimistic way of working through our problems.

Disagree Better is an effort to show that as Americans, we can work through our differences to find solutions to the most difficult problems facing our states and our nation. This effort includes a series of public-facing efforts, assisted by NGA and chosen from a toolkit of interventions that are customizable for each state/governor. These strategies include:

• Hosting a service project within your communities, potentially with your state Legislature and their spouses from both sides of the aisle.
• Recording an ad with a neighboring governor from a different party, a legislator from the opposing party, or a campaign opponent. NGA Chair Utah Gov. Cox, a Republican, and NGA Vice Chair Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, explain more in this video.
• Recording a brief civic education ad, explaining that our nation’s founding and the Constitution were designed for people from different backgrounds and with different views.
• Writing an op-ed with someone from the other party on a topic of common ground.
• Hosting a debate at a college or university that models healthy conflict to future generations, including in partnership with organizations like Braver Angels and Bridge USA.