The collage of pictures you see with this blog post remind me of a time that now seems almost quaint, and yet I wish for a return to this sort of political imagery.
Democratic and Republican politicians can still be friends even as they joust — sometimes ferociously — with each other over matters of principle and purpose.
We are living these days in an era where members of Congress are physically, viscerally afraid to be in the company of their foes. This is an era in which at least one presidential candidate — that would be The Donald — urged his rally supporters to “beat the crap” out of protesters; he then offered to pay their legal bills if they needed help defending themselves in court.
So damn many of Trump’s cult followers have taken that advice all too seriously.
As I look at the images accompanying this brief blog item I am struck by how recently they were snapped. Yet the individuals pictured come from a bygone era of comity and collegiality.
President George W. Bush, you should recall, went to the White House after serving as a successful Texas governor. A large part of Bush’s success as governor came from his willingness and ability to work with politicians from the other party. Bush is a dedicated Republican, yet his alliances with Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and Democratic House Speaker Pete Laney became the stuff of recent Texas political legend.
That’s just one example worth noting in this brief post.
I no longer recognize the political process I used to watch with respect that bordered on awe as I was coming of age.
These days we see politicians who cannot stand to be in the same room with each other, let alone working together to find common ground. That made the recent gun legislation so remarkable, as Democratic and Republican senators searched for and found common purpose in crafting legislation that is far from perfect … but it signaled a constructive start.
The compromise reached recently in the Senate comes from a time-honored tradition that’s been present all along. The only thing that politicians must do is look for it.