We get a lot of information in the mail and via e-mail at the News- Herald every day. A lot of “high priority” press releases we receive are from elected officials and representatives from one political party or the other. Usually I skim them and then hit delete. Most of the time the press releases from the elected officials are self-serving missives disguised as public service announcements. The press releases from the various political party spokespeople are frequently slanderous and unnecessary attacks on the opposite party.
So I was delighted to read a thoughtful news release from our U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar this week, suggesting that our Congressional leaders put aside the partisan politics during the January 25, 2011 Presidential State of the Union Address, and sit together. Klobuchar had signed a bipartisan letter, initiated by Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, requesting that their colleagues not sit divided during the President’s speech, but mixed together.
For a long time I have hated the way our leaders sat in their rigid formations during these presidential performances. One side stonily listening while the President spoke, clapping only on things so blatantly American that it would be unpatriotic not to applaud, while the other side responds with hearty applause and standing ovations. As Senator Udall put it in his letter to his colleagues, this practice “is unbecoming of a serious institution.”
Udall explains there is no real reason why Democrats and Republicans sit in a strict partisan divide. “Beyond custom, there is no rule or reason that on this night we should emphasize divided government, separated by party, instead of being seen united as a country…. the message it sends is that even on a night when the President is addressing the entire nation, we in Congress cannot sit as one, but must be divided as two.”
Well said. And the appeal appears to be making progress. To date, 39 Democrats, nine Republicans, and one Independent have signed the letter. Congressional leaders like Barbara Boxer, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman have signed on. I hope many others follow and take a simple step toward a more cooperative Congressional system.
Klobuchar also articulated her feelings well, stating, “Our nation faces many important issues, and Americans want our elected officials to work together. Political courage in our nation’s capital has most often been symbolized by the man or woman who dares to stand alone. But political courage can also mean something different—the willingness to stand with those you normally disagree with for the betterment of our country. We can start by sitting together at the State of the Union.”
It’s a symbolic gesture, yes, but maybe it will lead to something more. Maybe it’s a small step in the right direction. Perhaps the national news media will pick up on this story and on others that demonstrate that our Congressional representatives can— and do—work together on a bipartisan basis. Perhaps this could eventually lead to a nightly news program that doesn’t start by reporting what the Republicans or the Democrats or the Independents or the Tea Party did— or more likely didn’t do—but instead on all the things our leaders were able to accomplish. Any party which takes credit for the rain must not be surprised if its opponents blame it for the drought.
Dwight Whitney Morrow
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