The Michigan Opportunity Radio Show ~ MICHIGAN’S FUTURE: With the leaders from Michiganders for Civic Resilience, Business Leaders for Michigan, and Gardner White Furniture & Mattress

Yeah, and, and those are great, noble ideas, and I'm sure it's a lot harder when you're actually doing it in practice.

But how, and I don't know which one of you got this rolling, but how did you get...

Like, why don't you talk a little bit how this started? 'Cause I know you both knew each other from the legislature when we all served together, but how did this thing even start out? I don't know which one of you even got it going.

I'll, I'll take that.

Um, first of all, The Carter Center, which is, uh, who funds our organization, reached out, uh, saying that, you know, Jimmy Carter always believed that, uh, we need to safeguard our elections in other parts of the world, but never probably the United States.

And, and, you know, we had always in the United States had a peaceful transition, and with more and more political violence, uh, happening, uh, both, on both sides, uh, uh, getting it, that, uh, we really need to f- take a focus inwards.

So they reached out to me and s- asked me if I would be interested.

Obviously, since we're the home of Gerald R. Ford, uh, Presidential Foundation, I also reached out with them, so it is a collaboration both on the right and the left, um, between two former presidents who had a very spirited debate and, uh, heated presidential election, but really believed in our system of governance.

And so I used to run this program with, uh, Chris Gregg, but Chris Gregg went on to greener pastures.

And so, uh, having the friendship I have always had with, uh, my dear friend and c- former colleague Rebekah, I reached out to her.

So that's kind of how we got started, and, uh, and the genesis of it.

So h- what did you think about this, Rebekah, when you first got approached? [laughs]

Well, uh, so I got the outreach, right? That was like, "There's this project that is a collaboration between Jimmy Carter's Presidential Center and Gerald R.

Ford's Presidential Foundation in Michigan, and what we're working on" And the way it was presented to me, basically the, the work has three goals, three pillars.

The first is to increase civility in our public conversation, sort of increasing civility in our public places, to increase Michiganders and Americans' faith in our elections and our institutions, and third, to stand in a cross-partisan way against any kind of identity-based harassment, threats, or violence.

And I thought, "Oh my gosh, what a perfect project at the perfect time." It was, like, the right project at the right time, because we all know this is, you know, this is the most divisive time in politics I've ever experienced in my lifetime.

And, and we all know, the three of us-

us-We served together.

We were able to pass bipartisan pieces of legislation by reaching across the aisle and having relationships where we trusted the other person, even if we didn't agree 100% of the time.

And that right now seems to be missing.

So I thought the right project at the right time, and when they said, "The, the barrier to you getting this ta- to getting this contract and doing this work is the, the right-leaning lead, the Republican lead for your state has to approve you." And I'm like, "Well, who is that?" And they're like, "Tanya Schuitemaker." I'm like, I get to work with somebody that I truly admire and appreciate as a friend and a colleague and a, a, a smart lawyer who has a lot of knowledge about a lot of things.

So for me, it's, it's just been a great...

It's been great work.

Just so you know, I never liked either one of you.

[laughs] I don't think that's the case, Ed.