Everyone's talking about this meet-cute 'bromance' story of two congressmen, Texas Reps. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat, and Will Hurd, a Republican, and their "No planes, automobiles" trip to the Capitol from Texas.
Forced by snow cancellations to get to their Washington job from a stateside panel discussion, the two rented a car and drove over 1600 miles together. One of them had the great idea to live facebook their road trip, and it became a phone-in show with other members of congress hinting they might do the same thing.
NPR reports:
"I learned something — this is a guy I can work with," O'Rourke told Fox 5 DC as they started to go into the Capitol. "It just happens that we're on opposite sides of the aisle."
Hurd reflected that at the outset of their trip, some of the comments weren't as encouraging about their unique undertaking. But by the end, they had plenty of people cheering them on and holding the two men up as examples of bipartisanship that is sorely needed in Washington.
I find it instructive that Will Hurd is a moderate, under 40, former CIA officer (9 years) and notably NOT from the Freedom Caucus class of 2010. (Hurd is the first black Republican elected to Congress from Texas and was elected in 2014.) I didn't listen to the whole road trip, but I have to assume Hurd didn't start quoting from Ayn Rand, suggest that anything not endorsed on Breitbart was fake news, or insist that if it isn't covered on "Fox and Friends" it isn't worth talking about.
Bipartisanship is entirely possible if "both sides" work from the same actual facts. More of this, please.
