Two pieces, one on GOPer Tim Scott and one on Democrat Mark Kelly, that provide grounds for hope. (Links to full pieces embedded in headlines.)
Why Tim Scott’s speech was right on target (April 28): U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina gave a superb “Republican response” to President Joe Biden’s first address in the House chamber.
Without a deep dive, and without the word-for-word text in front of me, here are the lines I liked, with quotes pretty darn close but not guaranteed to be absolutely accurate. I present them not in the order he said them, but as they take prominence in my mind.
First, he said, “America is not a racist country.” Thank you, senator: You are right.
A repeated refrain: “common sense and common ground.” But as he spoke, he played with the words: “Common sense makes common ground.”…
Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly gives Republicans an opening (May 3): Two lessons should be gleaned from last week’s criticism by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona about President Joe Biden’s failure to deal with the crisis at the nation’s southern border.
The obvious lesson, but one no less important for its obviousness, is that the border situation is indeed a crisis and that Biden is spectacularly at fault. The second lesson is not about the border but about political opportunities. Congressional Republicans should recognize in Kelly’s distress a chance to build bridges with him. The ultimate goal would be to help move public policy back from Biden’s aggressive liberalism toward some semblance of moderation…. Republicans should take heed of Kelly’s current frustration with Biden. It is at times such as these that new senators still getting a “feel” for their job may be most open to forging bipartisan alliances. And working relationships on one issue can lead the way to similar cooperation on others….
