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The Scalise shooting won't bring peace to Congress

Ed Rogers

By Ed Rogers The Washington Post

Published June 23, 2017

The Scalise shooting won't bring peace to Congress
In the wake of last week's attack ahead of the 2017 Congressional Baseball Game, pundits and politicians came out of the woodwork, issuing calls for solidarity. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., had been rushed to the hospital with bullet wounds, and four other people - including two Capitol Police officers - were injured.


Whenever events such as this happen, some are left wondering whether the political climate on Capitol Hill will be impacted and produce a brief era of bipartisan cooperation. Call me a cynic, but the simple answer is: No, last week's shooting will not change a thing - principally for three reasons.


First, there is no Democratic constituency calling for moderation or sympathy to guide their politics. There is no call for Democrats in Congress to see their Republican colleagues in a positive light or to work with anyone who supports President Donald Trump.


And the same is true in the media.


Look no further than CBS News' Scott Pelley. Rather than report on the tragedy of a crazed shooter gunning down those with whom he disagreed politically, Pelley chose to editorialize from the CBS anchor's chair.

"It's time to ask," Pelley argued, "whether the attack on the United States Congress Wednesday was foreseeable, predictable and, to some degree, self-inflicted."


To suggest that the shooting may have been self-inflicted and that Scalise and Republicans in Congress were to blame only further speaks to the problem plaguing today's shallow liberals. Sigh.


Second, even if there were some Democrats who wanted to seize the moment, I don't know of any Democratic leaders making an effort to. If House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., could be magnanimous and work in a bipartisanship fashion, we would know it by now. And yet, Pelosi has become the master instigator of partisanship and a symbol of futility. She appears to be a spent force, and her call for a "referendum" on President Trump in Georgia's 6th Congressional District only further proves that point.


But don't just take my word for it. In an astonishing moment of cathartic candor, Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, told Politico, "I think you'd have to be an idiot to think we could win the House with Pelosi at the top."


Well said.


Anyway, Republicans everywhere are at peace with that assessment.

And third, the leading prospective Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential election are in a contest to see who can be the most pronounced, shrill liberal. Sens. Bernie Sanders', I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren's, D-Mass., personal ambitions for 2020 will not allow bipartisan outreach.


And the Democrats' growing crowd of lesser lights considering runs for president do not want anyone to get to their left.


That includes everyone from former attorney general Eric Holder and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., to Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Their desire to run will keep them from doing anything that looks like outreach to Republicans. Last week's shooting was a tragedy, and it could act as a pause from today's partisan warfare. But Democrats are hindered by the realities of their own party.


There is no Democratic constituency that wants its members to move toward the center.


In fact, today's Democrats prefer an onslaught of attacks against Trump and Republicans everywhere. Perhaps that explains why Democratic strategist James Devine tweeted "#HuntRepublicans" soon after last week's shooting and "it is time for hunting" upon confirmation of Karen Handel's victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff in the race for Georgia's 6th District.


Democrats are rallying toward the angry left, not the thoughtful center. Nothing about the tragic shooting in Alexandria will change that for even one nanosecond.

Ed Rogers is a a political consultant and a veteran of the White House and several national campaigns. He is the chairman of the lobbying and communications firm BGR Group, which he founded with former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour in 1991."


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