Across the Aisle (Hal Cohen)

Hal Cohen -- World News Trust

Jan. 16, 2011 -- In the wake of the Tucson Tragedy, there is a proposal gaining traction in Congress for Democrats and Republicans to sit together during the State of the Union Address.

This is an admirable display of unity, but it is not enough. As a gesture, it ignores the fact that it needs to be made in the first place.

The entire concept of reaching across the aisle is anathema to our democracy.  It is a tacit admission that our representatives are partisans first and representatives second.  When Mayor Giuliani “crossed the aisle” to endorse President Clinton’s “Safe Streets” initiative and the Assault Weapons ban, he told people that they needed to remember that he wasn’t just the Republican Mayor of New York, he was the Mayor of New York.

There is a story about a President ignoring a segment of the population by saying, “Well they aren’t going to vote for me anyway!” Nothing offends me more than that. If I am able to vote for you, then I am your constituent. As such, you have an obligation to represent me whether I voted for you or not. You may do things I disagree with, but you should do so only because you think I’m wrong and not because I didn’t vote for you.

There are many caucuses in Congress. There is the Republican caucus, the Democratic caucus, the Hispanic caucus, the Black caucus, Michelle Bachmann filed to create the Tea Party caucus.  What’s missing? The New York caucus, the California caucus, the Texas caucus, etc.

It is not important for Democrats and Republicans to sit together. What is needed is for Representatives of the same state to sit together. They need to be reminded to whom the are responsible. They need to have weekly caucus lunches -- Democrats and Republicans from each state getting together regularly to discuss their local needs.