By Taylor Rapalyea
Staff Writer

On Oct. 7, I was fortunate enough to attend the “How Women Become Political” event. And amid the inspiration and applause, the panelists brought up an important pointone among many: the concept of bipartisanship.

I make no secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of Babson College President Kerry Healy, but I can admit she made a powerful argument in the name of crossing party lines. She stated that women need to make gendered attacks unacceptable, regardless of their political orientation. And while the Boston City Councilor at-Large seemed to be staring daggers at Healy for a large portion of the panel, by the end she was nodding in agreement with the former lieutenant governor.

Gloria Steinem noted that it was not women who abandoned the Republican party – it was the Republican party that abandoned women. The GOP was originally largely in favor of women’s rights, particularly over the Democrats. But that was before the party was taken hostage by extremists.

It’s a sad day when politicians are unable to see beyond party lines to do something as simple as keep the government up and running. As a result, national zoos, parks, and museums are closed indefinitely. No one can apply for a passport, which is a huge blow to tourism revenue abroad in addition to airlines.

Federal employees are on furlough if their services were not deemed critical, and while they will be paid retroactively, they won’t get their paychecks in a timely manner.

Small businesses won’t be able to get government loans, and Social Security payments are at risk of being halted. While the payments are expected to continue, it’s possible that there won’t be enough employees to actually process the checks.

There is a lot more at stake than just the aforementioned problems. And yet lawmakers can’t get their work together enough to come up with a spending plan. The two U.S. government shutdowns that occurred in 1995 and 1996 cost the country a collective $1.4 billion.

To return to the point of bipartisanship, I’m sick of people blaming either party, though I myself do the same. There needs to be cooperation to create a spending plan, but no one intends on budging. But it should be noted that it’s appalling that the Affordable Healthcare Act is even on the table – the bill has already been enacted, not to mention that the legislature was based on Mitt Romney’s effect on healthcare in Massachusetts.

Simmons Republicans refuse interviews on a regular basis for fear of being ostracized. Even at a school renowned for its acceptance, those of a certain political party are actually fearful of speaking up.

It shouldn’t matter what party you’re enrolled in. Your character, argument, and ability to reason should speak louder than whether you sport a donkey or an elephant on your pins.

More importantly, the well-being of the country should be a much higher priority than your own personal agenda (Senator Ted Cruz) or that of your party. Politicians are holding the U.S. hostage while collecting their own paychecks.

If you can’t set aside party differences to come forward and find a solution, then you shouldn’t be elected in the first place.

And voters: remember this during election time. Vote for those whose ability to reason shines, rather than for those who stick indefinitely to their party’s guns.