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Janet Napolitano on Principles & Values

Democratic AZ Governor; Designee for Secretary of Homeland Security

 


Key to politics: enlarge the circle to achieve common goals

During my time as governor of Arizona, there were many instances where I was at an event and someone would lean over to me and whisper "I'm a Republican, but I voted for you."

They had to be out there. I was elected 3 times--once as attorney general and twice as governor--as a Democrat in a state where Democratic support alone can't win you an election. They key to making change in politics is to give those types of people a home--to enlarge the circle, include people who may not agree with you on everything, and make skeptics into partners. This can be difficult, but the larger and more diverse the coalition, the greater the potential to achieve common goals. This has been one of my priorities during my time in politics.

Source: Intro to Unite and Conquer, by Kyrsten Sinema, p. ix , Jul 1, 2009

Change from old political cynicism to new hopeful model

In the past, efforts to describe the essence of politics have resounded with cynicism. Politics is likened to sausage making or cat herding; it is called the organization of grievance, or the process by which people who once had good intentions sell out for expediency.

But the political phenomena that have changed our country in the last few years--foremost among these President Obama's historic rise to the White House-- have given us a less cynical and more hopeful model for what politics really is: the organization of people with common interests and concerns and the act of mobilizing them toward a common goal.

We have seen the ability of broad-based, well-led coalitions to change politics and empower people who had never thought they could make much of a difference.

Source: Intro to Unite and Conquer, by Kyrsten Sinema, p. xi , Jul 1, 2009

Supports Hyde Park Declaration of "Third Way" centrism.

Napolitano adopted the manifesto, "A New Politics for a New America":

As New Democrats, we believe in a Third Way that rejects the old left-right debate and affirms America’s basic bargain: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all.