And I'd like to see a "public agenda" for the people in the middle who wish to make progress for the nation as a whole, and to make the nation whole.

What are the people's interests?
1) Employment/job security.
2) Health security.
3) Fair taxation.
4) Environmental curation.
5) National security.

What else?

A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich