Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio who was succeeded by J.D. Vance in 2023, joined forces on Oct. 29 to talk about the intensely problematic polarization that is damaging this country.

During a panel discussion at the University of Cincinnati, the two discussed the importance of getting the work of the American people done in a bipartisan manner. Along with that goes the effort to combat extremism on both sides, which is making those with a more centrist/moderate perspective less effective in serving their constituents because they are squeezed out.

“You will beat me if you can control the primary and the parties want total control,” Manchin said, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal. “Both of them are guilty of this, and that’s what we’re fighting right now.”

Portman and Manchin discussed the importance of bipartisanship, and believe working together led to the passage of the Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS Act and the Electoral Count Reform Act.

Referring to the extreme action on Jan. 6, 2021, that inspired the Electoral Count Reform Act, Machin and Portman were in agreement.

“We took off and we said, we gotta do something quick. This can never happen again,” Manchin said, according to the Capital Journal. “January 6 was real — it was real — we were there.”

“It was a terrible day,” Portman agreed, “and what we did was try to figure out, how do you avoid this happening again because of the ambiguity of this legislation?”

During the panel discussion, Manchin mentioned ideas for fighting extremism, which he made clear are part of the advocacy plan for his daughter’s centrist political organization Americans Together. These include open primaries, independent redistricting commissions, consideration of ranked (majority) choice voting and efforts to hold government accountable such as: no budget, no pay; bipartisan/majority bills get a vote; maintaining the filibuster in the U.S. Senate and term limits for Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Those are certainly interesting conversation starters. But the larger point being made by Manchin and Portman is a good one — extremist politics is a problem. Painting those of differing political opinions as enemies is corrosive.

Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together. Manchin and Portman are right. It’s time to seek some common ground.