Heard on the Hill: New Caucus ISO Bipartisan Buddies
Freshman Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) can’t stand the vitriol that’s become the common parlance of Congress. So they’re hoping to kill like-minded Members with kindness.
The idealistic duo is launching the Common Ground Caucus at 7 p.m. today at Top of the Hill, an informal gathering designed to bring together politicians who genuinely want to get to know colleagues from across the aisle.
“In the Common Ground Caucus, members will not necessarily agree on the issues, but we will join together to cultivate relationships off the floor and out of the committee room that will help us work together and work towards a more bipartisan institution, built upon mutual respect,” the pair proposes in their exploratory “Dear Colleague” letter.
The only prerequisite: You gotta bring along a Member from the opposing side to join.
Because they’re the proverbial new kids on the block and theoretically lack the psychological baggage of rancorous legislative standoffs, Cicilline feels that he and Hayworth have got the right stuff to lead this charge.
“As freshmen, we come to this work without a lot of [scar] tissue ... so maybe we are [in] a better position to lead this effort,” he says.
At press time, a Hayworth aide projected that around a half-dozen Congressional pairs had RSVP’ed to attend the inaugural get-together. Those who don’t will miss out on all kinds of fraternizing fun, including potential plans to “go to dinner, go to a Nationals game, go bowling. Whatever,” Cicilline says.
Here’s to plus-oneing our way to a more amicable end of session.
Submit your hot tips and juicy gossip.
Can't get enough HOH? Get a midday dose of fun and gossip, delivered to your inbox
daily. Sign up for HOH's One-Minute Recess — because everyone deserves
more recess.
Heard on the Hill Headlines
By
Warren Rojas
| May 25, 2012
Pro-choice activists went on the offensive this week after one of their own got dressed down by a flight crew for donning what American Airlines personnel deemed to be an over-the-top T-shirt.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 25, 2012
John Scofield, the one-time mouthpiece for the Congressional committee tasked with burning through money, was back in the news this week. Only this time he let his cooking do all the talking.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 25, 2012
The house where the legendary 1972 porn “Deep Throat” was filmed is now on the market in Miami, Fla., the real estate blog Zwillow reports.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 24, 2012
Rep. Sean Duffy is kicking it “old school” on Highway 53 on the way to Lake Superior.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 24, 2012
First lady Michelle Obama has been calling on kids and parents to climb aboard the healthy-eating bandwagon for years now.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 24, 2012
Chicago residents: The next time you receive a package, closely ogle the delivery guy. He might be your Congressman.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 24, 2012
The U. S. Capitol Page Alumni Association starts rolling into town today for a reunion weekend jam-packed with educational activities and nostalgia-stoking get-togethers. Too bad most of Congress won’t be around to participate.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 24, 2012
Democrats get ready! Local tea party folks plan to greet those attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., with some serious political verbiage — at least the ones arriving via the highway. “When the DNC arrives, we will have an impact,” Yadkin Valley Tea Party activist Mark Hager pledges.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 23, 2012
Last Thursday, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) stoked the birthers when he said President Barack Obama wasn’t American, at least not in his heart, and he’s been walking back, or sideways or forward, from the statement since.
By
Warren Rojas
| May 23, 2012
Unless the Library of Congress knows something we don’t, the hip-hop classic “Rapper’s Delight” was recorded by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979 and not by the late great Donna Summer in 1977.
