As my professional journey takes me out of partisan politics, I have been thinking about how “political theater” can both advance, and retard, good public outcomes. By “political theater” I mean the way political actors (elected or not) use their platforms for public attention. Two different approaches that capture the dilemma of what it means to be successful in politics today involve two men sharing the same last name.

Wasn’t it a pleasant surprise to see Wayne Williams, Colorado’s former Secretary of State, who failed in his bid to be the Mayor of Colorado Springs, appear in a video with his successful rival, Yemi Mobolade, talking about working together to help their city?  In an era of election denial and constant political combat, it was refreshing to see two political opponents come together with a sincere message urging collaboration.

That it is refreshing and, therefore, unusual tells us how far we have descended from what used to be normal civic consciousness by politicians.

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Of course, it is spot-on brand for Wayne Williams to move beyond differences of opinion and model political decency.  He did the same thing with his former opponent, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, when he appeared in an ad with her to reassure voters about the integrity of Colorado elections.  It’s the kind of proactive instinct for appealing to the common good that is part of his reputation. It is also a tribute to Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s willingness to put aside triumphalism and make the case for unifying the electorate in his city.

However small the gesture, it was a big step in the right direction for politics.

The newly elected Colorado State Republican Party Chair, Dave Williams, attracted different headlines. He went after his one-time opponent, Congressman Doug Lamborn, for supporting U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy in averting a catastrophic debt crisis. Chairman Williams also chastised Republican legislators for opposing a move by the Montana State House to ban participation in their legislative process by a transgender legislator. Most recently he seemed joyful about wrecking the chances of a very capable Republican legislator (Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer) from attempting a second congressional campaign.

Let me acknowledge Wayne Williams is a man I know and have had the privilege of working with in state government. I don’t know Dave Williams. He may have a capacity for collaboration and promoting goodwill in politics that I missed. He might well argue it’s not his job to be nice to his opponents. But is it also his job to go after his fellow Republicans?

To be fair, it’s not unheard of for party chairs to criticize members of their own party, but it’s rare, and mostly to advance party cohesion when members go rogue on broadly held values or platform positions. Vilifying legislative decisions by members of your party seems risky when your job is to build out, and not narrow, your membership.

But what if Chairman Williams’s political theater is based on conviction? Don’t we need more political leaders willing to speak their firmly held convictions?

It puts me in mind of a conservative political leader I have somewhat grudgingly come to admire, the late Margaret Thatcher.

Thatcher, of course, practically coined the term “conviction politician” – and her combative take-no-prisoners style did not always wear well. But if you read about her life, watch, or listen to her speeches and interviews, she was only rarely lured into political theater for political theater’s sake. She was tough on her opponents, but there was always a foundation of deeply held and rationally consistent conviction behind her rhetoric, and there was also a grace and eloquence in her toughness. Calling her a firebrand would not do justice to the intellectual rigor or depth of her reputation.

If Thatcher was in office today, I doubt she would be interested in attracting likes or retweets on social media platforms. She was, above all, a serious person.

Chairman Williams’s attacks on fellow Republicans doesn’t seem Thatcher-like to me; it seems more like the kind of highly combustible political theater that attracts attention but doesn’t really move policy or advance public good. I doubt it helps raise funds for the GOP, either.

Worse yet, it alienates people from lifting their head up and participating in politics. 

This isn’t a call for kumbaya and can’t-we-all-get-along – politics can be a rough business because it is ultimately a serious one. Important disagreements are at the heart of politics and convictions are part of the bloodstream.

But finding the balance between fighting for convictions and collaborating to achieve common good, shouldn’t be so hard. It is particularly crucial for the health of our democracy that our elected and partisan leaders seek that balance, even in an environment that rewards political theater aimed at destroying rivals.

So, Godspeed Wayne Williams and Yemi Mobolade.

Alan Salazar is chief of staff for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. Salazar has served as chief strategy officer for Democratic former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; as chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. and later U.S. Sen. Mark Udall; as deputy chief of staff and policy director for former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, and in key staff posts for former Colorado U.S. Sens. Tim Wirth and Gary Hart. He also served in senior-level positions in President Bill Clinton‘s election and re-election campaigns and in Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s 2016 presidential campaign.