Former U.S. Sens. John C. Danforth and Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in the 2000 election, discussed partisanship and other flaws they see in the political system on Tuesday.

Former Sens. Joe Lieberman and John Danforth speak in Graham Chapel on Tuesday. The talk was sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and discussed the politicians’ view of the role of religion in politics.

The senators’ talk, titled “The Role of Religion in America’s Broken Politics,” was sponsored by the eponymous John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. Danforth, a Republican and the center’s namesake, and Lieberman, now an Independent, also touched on recent events in Ferguson and the responsibilities that religious institutions bear in helping resolve the issues there.

The center’s director, Marie Griffith, moderated the discussion. She hoped that letting audience members hear from speakers who had had direct experience with politics would be enlightening.

After an introduction of Griffith by Chancellor Mark Wrighton, Griffith introduced the senators and opened the discussion with a question about the current state of politics. According to Lieberman, the Senate has become more partisan over time.

“People have lost the ability to compromise,” Lieberman said.

Danforth detailed how this increased partisanship is changing and hampering the political system.

“Instead of the parties meeting once a week for lunch on Tuesdays, they now meet Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, just as parties. And all of these meetings are in the same vein—namely, ‘let’s do the other guys in,’” Danforth said.

Both senators gave accounts of interactions from the time they served in the Senate, discussing this progressive weakening of relationships between parties. They also discussed other downfalls that have hurt the political system, such as politicians taking fewer risks to ensure popularity, which inhibits Congress from actually solving the nation’s problems.

“You can’t solve the country’s problems and make everyone happy,” Lieberman.

Lieberman shares a laugh in Graham Chapel. Lieberman and Danforth used their personal experiences in politics to discuss recent events in Ferguson and how religion can help.

The senators then addressed the question of relating religion to politics. Danforth noted that believers say there are no absolutes in politics as there are in religion. As Lieberman put it, “It’s just politics.”

The conversation then shifted toward the recent events in Ferguson and to how religious groups can react more constructively to this political turmoil.

“We love this town. We’ve got to make it right,” Danforth, a St. Louis native, said.

Though he noted that a lot of the change must take place on the government level, he said he felt that the responsibility also falls on religious institutions. He suggested that these institutions should support community efforts.

“It’s a responsibility, particularly of religious congregations. It’s not just ‘OK, let’s change the law.’ I believe that being a faithful person must entail more than writing a letter to a congressman or your state legislature,” Danforth said.

Lieberman supported this view, noting the positive role religious groups have played in civil rights throughout history.

“In American history, religion has played a very constructive role…It’s time for religious groups to come back,” he said.

“Holding together and the ministry of reconciliation, that really is religion constructing positive living, not trying to win elections—‘I’m on God’s side, you’re not’—but religion is binding us together. And that’s a great national project, as well as a religious one,” Danforth said.

The senators finished by opening the floor for audience questions. In response to a suggestion that politicians from different parties eat together, Lieberman agreed it would be worthwhile.

“Small steps for mankind can be big steps for Congress today,” Lieberman said.

After the event, Danforth said that he was glad to have put on the discussion with his old acquaintance.

“It was very, very fun for me. It was great to be with Joe Lieberman again. I had not seen him in a long, long time, and he had not changed a bit,” Danforth said.

Troy Woytek, a campus minister at the Catholic Student Center, commented on the open communication that took place between these representatives from different parties.

“I think they paint a picture of what our system could be at its best and a picture of how far from that we are right now. It gives me hope that people who come to things like this are hopefully being inspired to vote for, and voice [and] be vocal about, a government that would more like this, knowing that it could exist this way,” Woytek said.