Marylanders mixing it up at State of the Union
Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation are joining the effort to mix things up at the State of the Union Address Tuesday night.
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, Andy Harris and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger are some of the many members of Congress who are planning to break up the traditional seating plan for the event – Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other – and sit with members of the opposite party.
The idea follows the shooting attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords this month that left six dead and 14 wounded; polls show it has broad public support.
Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat, is planning to sit with Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican.
Cummings has championed broadening access to pediatric dentistry, particularly in poor communities, since the 2007 death of Deamonte Driver, the 13-year-old Prince George’s County boy who succumbed to an infected abcess after his mother was unable to afford a routine tooth extraction.
Gosar is a dentist.
“I am pleased to have a chance to discuss this critical cause with Dr. Gosar,” Cummings said in a statement. “The death of Deamonte Driver was a seminal moment in my life, and in the lives of so many in the dental community who have fought to see dental and oral health education and treatment, particularly for children, reach an equal footing with other types of healthcare. Dr. Gosar has dedicated his life to this crucial service and I salute him for that. As well, he is a member of the Arizona delegation in which my good friend Gabrielle Giffords serves. It will be my pride to share stories with him about this beautiful public servant who we both pray will rejoin our body as soon as possible.”
Gosar said he is “looking forward to sitting with Rep. Cummings and learning more about his passion for children’s healthcare.”
“I admire the Congressman's dedication to this important issue,” he said. “We share the values of ensuring good health care for children and all Americans. I am encouraged by the response of all our colleagues thus far – it is time we put our country first and move past the partisan rhetoric and focus on solutions that will make our country a better, stronger place.”
Mikulski, a Democrat, will be sitting with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who won reelection in November as a write-in candidate after losing the GOP primary to Sarah Palin endorsee Joe Miller.
Harris, a Baltimore County Republican, and Ruppersberger, a Baltimore County Democrat, are sitting with each other.
Earlier, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Southern Maryland – the No. 2 Democrat in the House – endorsed the new seating arrangements.
“I believe Congress has a responsibility to set an example of less ugly, less divisive debate,” he said. “I believe that members of both parties can symbolize our common citizenship and common interests by sitting together to hear the president’s remarks, rather than divided across the aisle by party. A gesture like this won’t make partisanship disappear, nor should it—democracy is built on strong disagreements between the parties. But this gesture … should help end the political theater of repeatedly seeing one side of the aisle rise in applause, as the other sits still. We must always consider ourselves Americans first, and Democrats or Republicans second. It is my hope that this new tradition can remind us that, no matter what our differences, we all come to Congress with the nation’s best interests at heart.”
Comments
A little late for this kind of thing. A last ditch effort to no avail as Democrats become an endangered party outside of MA and MD. A worthless gesture and last farewell. Should have tried it in '2010 when it would have been magnanimous. Now it is a desparate attempt before being utterly marginalized.
They may sit where ever they choose, just do not expect them to be included in any aspect of fixing this country.
Posted by: Blauman | January 25, 2011 2:10 PM
The Dems should sit at the checkerboard table, just like the kids at Thanksgiving. Leave the big table for the adults.........
Posted by: MDR | January 25, 2011 2:33 PM
Blauman, you are too too funny. Just two years ago in 2008 when Obama crushed McCain and Dems continued to gain more and more seats in both houses (after big gains in 2006), many declared the Republican party dead with no Federal representative in the northeast except in Maine, etc. In those two short years, those pundits had to eat their words. Voters in this country have a very short memory and have shown that they are not afraid to change their minds. In fact, if you look closely at the voting records from 2004 to 2010, it was solely the INDEPENDENT voters who created/caused the tsunami-like shifts in Congress. As a life-long liberal Democrat, I hope and pray folks like you rest on your laurels thinking it can't happen to you. That said, the INDEPENDENTS have complete control of who gets elected. And with no "brand loyalty" to one party over another, I expect a shift back in the Dems favor IF the economy keeps improving. If unemployment is one scintilla below 8%, Obama and the Dems will come roaring back. It helps the Dems that the Repubes have the House because they are now forced to govern. With the Tea Baggers constantly nipping at their "jewels," they are not likely to do a good job of governing from the House. Look at what's already happening tonight...Michelle Bloody Bachmann will be giving a counter-address to the State or the Union after President Obama and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan! What a joke! In fact, CNN plans to cover all three speeches LIVE! What a hoot!
Posted by: Woodie | January 25, 2011 4:53 PM
This isn't a good sign for the Republican party tonight with this counter-address by Republican Michele Bachmann after the official Republican response by Paul Ryan. This officially means the the Republican party is split in two. Your seeing the differences between the two sides of the party coming out tonight. My question is, if the Tea Party is essentially trying to be their own party, then why dont they just become their own party instead of running under the Republican name?
Posted by: Jeff | January 25, 2011 6:08 PM