Episode summary
David Rubenstein on New Book, “Speaking of America”
The David Rubenstein Show
· · Hosts: David Rubenstein · Guests: Romaine Bostick
Summary
The guest argues that Washington has become far more partisan than when he first worked there in the 1970s, when bipartisan dealmaking was the norm. He says the main force behind the shift is fundraising: lawmakers now need to appeal to the far left or far right, and that makes moderation politically unrewarding. He is skeptical that the system will change soon unless there is a major fundraising scandal or a broader legal shift on campaign money.
Key takeaways
- The guest says fundraising now dominates Washington, because candidates raise money from the far left and far right rather than from the middle.
- He argues the American dream is weakening for many people in the U.S., even as immigrants still come believing in it.
- He says the U.S. needs immigration and higher birth rates, noting the population is falling without them and GDP follows population.
- On the Orioles, the guest sees sports ownership as civic investment: he hopes the team can help revive downtown Baltimore.
- He says the Orioles have not won the World Series since 1983, and he is working with Maryland officials on Camden Yards development.
Notable quotes
“Today, that's kind of out of favor. You're either all all democrat or all republican in terms of votes rarely have bipartisanship”
“fundraising is almost everything that matters in Washington these days”
“Today, sadly, more people outside The United States come to The United States believing in that than people born here believe in it”
“For a country to keep its population the same, women of childbearing age need to have on average 2.1 children at their childbearing years”
“I thought if I bought it and gave it to the National Gallery of Art, it would it would stay in Washington, and people could see it”
How the episode opens
Speaking of America, you held these conversations at the Library of Congress. The idea was that behind closed doors, you can maybe get some of these folks in Washington to open up and talk about things in a way that they wouldn't do publicly. What did that actually teach you about Washington?
Well, Washington, when I first went to Washington in the seventies, a good legislator was thought to be somebody who was bipartisan, get people from both sides to work together. Today, that's kind of out of favor. You're either all all democrat or all republican in terms of votes rarely have bipartisanship.
About a dozen years ago, I thought if I could host a dinner for members of congress with no press there to see what they were they were sitting with people from the opposite party, the members might come and enjoy it. And so now I've I've been doing this for about a dozen years, and members really like it because we'd have experts coming in. I'll talk about American history.
I interview them, then the members can ask questions. And the members sit with people from the opposite party in the opposite house, and they seem to like it. So Well, I guess that's my question.
When we talk about the decline in bipartisanship, is that real, or is that just what we see in public? Meaning, behind closed doors... Because there's always this this...
These anecdotes you hear that behind closed doors, some of these people are a lot friendlier with each other than what you see in public. Well, behind closed doors, they do have some relationships that are better than what you might appear in the press. But, basically, what's happened is fundraising is almost everything that matters in Washington these days.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- speaking of america
- book interviews with congress
- midterm elections
- library of congress
- private washington conversations
Companies and tickers mentioned
- CG
- Carlyle Group
Watch the episode
Watch “David Rubenstein on New Book, “Speaking of America”” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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