---
title: "Can We Restore Civility to Washington Policy Debates?"
summary: |-
  Rob Atkinson argues in the Christian Science Monitor that the recent deserves much greater scrutiny, because real-world policy outcomes are far more consequential than crude political theater, and turning the focus in that direction could be the first step to recovering our civic senses.
date: "2017-06-29"
issues: ["Internet", "Broadband Access and Regulation", "Emerging Technologies"]
authors: ["Robert D. Atkinson"]
content_type: "Op-Eds & Contributed Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2017/06/29/can-we-restore-civility-washington-policy-debates/"
---

# Can We Restore Civility to Washington Policy Debates?

The toxification of politics in Washington in recent years has been impossible to miss and widely decried. But people have paid less attention to the impact it has had on the actual business of making public policy. Writing in the *Christian Science Monitor*, Rob Atkinson argues this deserves much greater scrutiny, because real-world policy outcomes are far more consequential than crude political theater, and turning the focus in that direction could be the first step to recovering our civic senses.

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*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2017/06/29/can-we-restore-civility-washington-policy-debates/*