Center of the American West Event Podcast

In a time when many friendships have crashed on the rocks of political division, Dick Wadhams, former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, and Patty Limerick, Faculty Director of the Center of the American West, have maintained a steady tie of mutual respect. Drawing on years of finding each other's thoughts to be always worthy of consideration (and, every now and then, worthy of a stiff challenge!), Wadhams and Limerick invited the public into their conversation. They explored topics ranging from the reasons for the intensity of bitter partnership to controversies over historical monuments. At the center of their exchange they identified the issues where conservatives and liberals genuinely disagree and to call attention to the areas where they might find common ground. "You and I ought not to die," John Adams and Thomas Jefferson said to each other, "before We have explained ourselves to each other." In endorsing this principle, Wadhams and Limerick (who are, thankfully, both in good health) are honored