The Conversation America Needs: Civility, Bipartisanship, and America's Standing in the World

Join General Wesley Clark and Governor Larry Hogan for a townhall discussion moderated by Rob Quirk on the need for more unity and bipartisanship in our national politics and foreign policy. General Clark and Governor Hogan will discuss the renewed commitment to civics, civility and citizenship that is needed to resolve political differences and address the major issues that face America, especially in foreign policy, national security, and world affairs.

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About Our Speakers

General Wesley Clark
Retired General of the United States Army

General Wesley K. Clark (ret.) is a businessman, educator, writer and commentator.

General Clark serves as Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic consulting firm; Chairman and Founder of Enverra, Inc. a licensed investment bank; Chairman of Energy Security Partners, LLC; as well as numerous corporate boards including BNK Petroleum and Leagold Mining.  He is active in energy, including oil and gas, biofuels, electric power and batteries, finance, and security. During his business career he has served as an advisory, consultant or board member of over ninety private and publicly traded companies.   In the not-for-profit space, he is a Senior Fellow at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations, Director of the Atlantic Council; Founding Chair of City Year Little Rock/North Little Rock; and founder of Renew America Together.  A best-selling author, General Clark has written four books and is a frequent contributor on TV and to newspapers.

Clark retired as a four star general after 38 years in the United States Army, having served in his last assignments as Commander of US Southern Command and then as Commander of US European Command/ Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He graduated first in his class at West Point and completed degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.) as a Rhodes scholar. While serving in Vietnam, he commanded an infantry company in combat, where he was severely wounded and evacuated home on a stretcher. He later commanded at the battalion, brigade and division level, and served in a number of significant staff positions, including service as the Director, Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5). He was the principal author of both the US National Military Strategy and Joint Vision 2010, prescribing US warfighting for full-spectrum dominance. He also worked with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke in the Dayton Peace Process, where he helped write and negotiate significant portions of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. In his final assignment as Supreme Allied Commander Europe he led NATO forces to victory in Operation Allied Force, a 78-day air campaign, backed by ground invasion planning and a diplomatic process, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing.

His awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Defense Distinguished Service Medal (five awards), Silver star, bronze star, purple heart, honorary knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments, and numerous other awards from other governments, including award of Commander of the Legion of Honor (France). He has also been awarded the Department of State Distinguished Service Award and numerous honorary doctorates and civilian honors.

Governor Larry Hogan
Governor of the State of Maryland

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is not a career politician. He spent nearly his entire career as a small businessman. Fed up with high taxes, politics as usual, and decades of a one-party monopoly, he started Change Maryland, the largest non-partisan grassroots citizen organization in state history. In 2014, out-numbered in party registration by more than 2-1, and outspent by more than 5-1, Governor Hogan pulled off the biggest upset in America to become only the second Republican Governor elected in Maryland in 50 years.

Governor Hogan quickly got to work and set an example for the nation, accomplishing what many believed was no longer possible: reaching across the aisle, and working together to achieve real bipartisan, common sense solutions. He eliminated the $5.1 billion deficit and cut taxes four years in a row. Under his leadership, Maryland produced one of the greatest economic turnarounds of any state in the nation. Governor Hogan also accomplished innovative health care solutions and made historic investments in education, transportation infrastructure, and in protecting the environment.

After four years of economic success and bipartisan progress - in one of the bluest states in America - Governor Hogan was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2018 to a second term, making him only the second Republican to do so in the entire 243 year history of the state. His cross-party appeal is evident in polls, which consistently shows an overwhelming majority of all Republicans, Democrats and Independents - nearly 80% of all Marylanders - approve of the job he is doing, which is the highest of any governor in Maryland history. He recently served as Chairman of the National Governors Association, leading the nation's governors during the COVID-19 pandemic. National rankings consistently show Governor Hogan as one of the most popular governors in America.

About Our Moderator

Rob Quirk
Anchor/Moderator

Rob Quirk is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. He has been the primary weeknight news anchor at News5 for nearly 30 years. Rob says that he is honored and humbled to have been able to bring the most important stories of the day to our News5 viewers, to act as an advocate for them, and work with them, in developing a partnership and relationship that has kept News5 the number one source of news for all of Southern Colorado.

He has been involved with the production and reporting of many important and historic stories and events across Southern Colorado since 1989. His anchoring, reporting and producing have won numerous awards with the Colorado Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. Including a one-on-one interview with President Obama at the White House, the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest wildfires, summer of 2013 flash flooding, the Aurora theater massacre, Columbine, and the federal trial of Oklahoma City bombing suspect, Timothy McVeigh.

Rob is also very involved in numerous causes across Southern Colorado that are very close to his heart, most notably, the Multiple Sclerosis Society Walks in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for those families struggling with M-S.

Rob was awarded Broadcast Citizen of the Year, in 2000, by the Colorado Broadcasters Association, for all of his volunteer and community service work.

Rob is a graduate of Arizona State University. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife of nearly 35 years, Jackie. They have two daughters, Molly and Alison. Rob is originally from Lockport, New York, and is the 4th of 9 children.

Rob is very active outside the newsroom. Enjoying the beautiful trails and mountain vistas of Colorado. Hiking, skiing and golf are some of his recreational passions. Also a big sports fan, Rob follows our Colorado College Tiger hockey, and all Air Force Falcon sports.