Civility Between Leaders Threatens Partisanship In Senate
What, has partisanship lost its luster?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has invited his counterpart - dare we say nemesis - Majority Leader Harry Reid to give a talk Monday at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Yes, that Reid, the one who goes throat to throat with McConnell and the GOP on the floor of the Senate each day in one of the more bitterly partisan eras in Senate history.
The topic of Reid's speech, according to his spokesman, will be "the need to reach across the aisle to work on a bipartisanship basis."
As the McConnell Center's web site proclaims: "Perhaps for the first time, both party leaders of the U. S. Senate will appear on the same stage on a college campus."
McConnell spokesman Don Stewart explained to us that the McConnell Center is "a partisanship-free zone."
Guess so, considering that last year McConnell invited Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) to speak at the center and gave the liberal lion such an effusive introduction it was almost surreal.
McConnell called Kennedy a "master legislator" and "my friend, Senator Ted Kennedy" and said, "Ted's entire career has been one of compassion for the stricken, the needy, and the powerless. His empathy for others has become a powerful engine, driving a historic career of public service and serving as a guidepost to countless others."
If Reid gets half as nice an introduction, we'll know things are going topsy turvy in the Senate. "First Senator Kennedy and now Senator Reid. Maybe there is hope for bipartisanship in the Senate after all," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said via email.
And if Reid finds himself channel flicking during down time in the Bluegrass State, maybe he'll hear those ads that his liberal allies are running in Kentucky media outlets pummeling McConnell for his opposition to expanding children's health care coverage.
By
Mary Ann Akers
|
October 11, 2007; 9:52 AM ET
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Posted by: R Mahtlin | October 11, 2007 10:49 AM | Report abuse
There is no partisanship in the Senate, really. It is all one party. Any "differences" is just kabuki to make us think there are two parties.
Posted by: Helena Montana | October 11, 2007 12:47 PM | Report abuse
Interesting....McConnell invites Reid to speak at the MCCONNELL Center.
Hmm, certainly no chance for partisanship there!
Posted by: Fred Evil | October 11, 2007 3:41 PM | Report abuse
maybe mcconnell can explain to reid why his staff was complicit in the fomenting the attacks on the frost family.
Posted by: linda | October 11, 2007 4:34 PM | Report abuse
regarding the senate's resolution to "stifle" Moveon.org, i agree with Hillary when she did not sign on because she wanted it to cover others, such as swift boat who came after john kerry and the incident with Clelland and the one with john mccain--yet mccain licks their boots. i am always amazed at what they can do to tear people down. what will happen when the war ends and these injured soldiers come home with medals and are also told they didn't deserve them. this has to stop and we need to do it NOW.
Posted by: TOPSY | October 12, 2007 1:21 PM | Report abuse
Bush's constant political campaigning instead of governing, is the main reason we have seen such a downturn in the intellectual debate and such an uptick in Jerry Springer discourse. The liberals are used to being called every name in the book, but I think its fairly a shock to the Republican machine to be dealing with the very same insults they're accustomed to hurling. Trickle down economics....naah. I call it "trickle down Karl Rove".....and they have meant every part of it to happen.
Posted by: Suzanne | October 15, 2007 10:09 AM | Report abuse
Best backward headline since "Spotted Owl Threatens Logging".
They should remember that no good deed goes unpunished.
Posted by: citizenjane | October 15, 2007 1:44 PM | Report abuse
Maybe his wide stance on inviting speakers will be helpful if anything comes out about him that his constituents might not all be very happy with.
There's certainly one other Senator around who wishes he'd had a rather more solid, forgiving and extensive base of support, even if he is sticking around until January 2009.
Posted by: KY guy | October 21, 2007 2:25 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
McConnell and Reid are in many ways old school. Old School is not a bad thing. We do need more bipartisanship and these kind of events are a refreshing start.
I have no issues with the SCHIP ads. There is nothing wrong with vociferous debate on a given issue, and Kentucky's airwaves are fair game.
The problem arises when the rhetoric of MoveOn and Limbaugh or the new wave of insult-first, think-later Internet zealots becomes the staple rhetoric of the MEMBERS of Congress.
We've always had lively debate, but we've usually had leaders who can rise above the personal and keep the quality of discourse far higher on the Hill than what we can expect in the trenches. If we don't get back to some serious adult debate within Congress, we'll live with gridlock.