I am excited by the opportunity to share my perspective and views with the Fox News audience and to help shape the dialogue at this important juncture in our history. More importantly, I’m eager to learn from the experience.
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In order for us to best decide as a people how to better protect and preserve our way of life, we need to first be able to hear what others are saying without the filter of bias and contempt. Not until we once again become practiced at treating those of differing views with civility and respect can we begin to join together to solve the myriad of problems our country must overcome.
I fully admit that in my previous lives as a campaign staffer, presidential campaign manager and Democrat Party official, my own lack of civility in the heat of battle has been on full display. And it wasn’t pretty. I should have been wise enough and humble enough to have listened to my mother, Jean, who so often would tell me, the third of nine children, to shut up and allow my siblings to speak, and to listen - really listen - to what they had to say. She knew I wasn’t listening so much as I was pausing before launching again into an argument. My mother tried to teach us Brazile kids a lesson we all need to heed as citizens: Listen more, talk less. Be civil to one another. Find common ground. Contempt is hatred towards others. These are the lessons and the attitude I will bring to Fox News.
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I have always believed that what Americans share in common is a lot stronger than what drives us apart, and that the best decisions are made in the spirit of mutual respect. I have always had good friends on the other side of the aisle. Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie and Michael Steele are men who I have known for decades. Former Bush-Cheney strategist and home girl Mary Matalin helped me survive so many challenges that we now refer to each other as “Towanda,” a term of endearment from the classic film “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
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Will I agree with my fellow commentators at Fox News? Probably not. But I will listen. Will I question them if they make assertions about hard-working Americans, low-income people and issues like climate change that I disagree with? Absolutely. But I will do so with civility and respect. I will also freely admit the weaknesses in liberal arguments and the strength in conservative positions. And I welcome the opportunity to challenge many of the false assumptions about progressives, especially those newly elected to Congress.
To leave the world a better place, you need to help make the world a better place. Just as it takes many ingredients to make a good gumbo, it will require listening to many voices before we are able to move forward as one people. And that’s exactly why I am so excited to join the honest and passionate debate at Fox News about our future. I invite you to join me.
