Sen. Udall seeks repeat of State of the Union "dates"

WASHINGTON ? At the urging of Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, members of Congress may again take opposing political party "dates" to the president's State of the Union address Jan. 24, to spend the evening and sit together.

Udall will promote the idea spearheaded by a left-leaning think tank, Third Way, which has asked congressional leaders to permanently retire the traditional partisan seating at joint sessions of Congress.

The idea that Republicans and Democrats sit in mixed company was so novel last year that Udall received national attention for the kumbaya moment when several members from opposing parties arrived together and sat together during the president's speech to Congress.

This ended the tradition of half the room standing (in this case, Democrats) and half the room sitting (Republicans) during the president's applause lines.

Whether the idea will catch fire again this year ? a distinctly political one that coincides with congressional approval ratings tanking at 11 percent ? has yet to be seen.

"I don't propose this so much that our approval ratings will rise, but it's a way to create an environment to work together," Udall said from Colorado on Thursday. "Sometimes, function will follow form."

The Senate and House are in recess until the State of the Union address.

Udall plans to attend a dedication Sunday with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting outside a grocery store in her district. Six people were killed, and more than a dozen, including Giffords, were critically wounded.

Udall will talk about ways to bring more comity to Congress, including drawing up fairer congressional districts, campaign-finance reform and the notion that members should go on bipartisan retreats.

The backdrop of the Arizona shooting last year ? just a few weeks before the president's annual speech ? also inspired members of Congress to at least make a gesture of getting along. Eight of Colorado's nine-member delegation, four Republicans and four Democrats, sat together in a row during the speech. Udall broke apart from them and sat with South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.

"I think that you can't change a culture overnight, and you can't change a culture in a year," Udall said. "It takes time. It's a way to share with the American people that we're taking their concerns seriously, and that in their hometowns, partisanship doesn't dominate."

But in Washington, it does dominate.

"It certainly can't hurt they all sit together," said University of Colorado at Boulder political scientist Ken Bickers. "I don't think they'll get cooties. But even if it doesn't hurt, I'm not sure it helps."

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, said Thursday he hadn't thought about sitting with a Democrat this year but enjoyed last year sitting with the Colorado delegation.

But does it help the partisan divide?

"Maybe it has symbolic value," Lamborn said. "I don't think it has any substantive value."

Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907, asherry@denverpost.com or twitter.com/allisonsherry

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_19685157?source=rss

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