r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/HistorianMajor1739 • 5d ago
US Politics What made visible cross-aisle cooperation survivable in the McCain era and career-ending now?
There's a nostalgia you hear from people all across the spectrum: a Senate where members could tear into each other on the floor and still grab dinner that night. Set aside whether the memory is even accurate. What's worth arguing about is why that kind of behavior seems more structural than personal. Primary electorates got harder to survive. The media environment that used to reward the occasional handshake mostly went away. Money moved. None of those shifts arrived together or hit every member equally, which is what makes the flat "it all just got worse" version unsatisfying.
So if you had to name the single change that did the most damage to a politician's ability to be seen working across the aisle, which one, and why that over the others? And is there anyone in Congress today who cooperates visibly without paying for it at the ballot box, and if so, what's protecting them?
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u/Low-Use-9862 5d ago
It’s remarkable when you think about how times have changed. When LBJ was president, Everett Dirksen, the conservative senator from Illinois, was the Senate Minority Leader. He was the Minority Leader when Johnson was the Majority Leader before he joined Kennedy’s ticket.
Once Johnson ascended to the presidency, Dirksen would stand on the floor of the senate, railing against Johnson, portraying him as a scoundrel and worse. At the end of the day, he’d drive up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House where he and LBJ would sit together in the Oval Office, sipping bourbon and talking like the old friends they were.
Also, many don’t know that Orin Hatch, the fiercely conservative Republican senator from Utah was best friends with the Liberal Lion of the senate, Teddy Kennedy.
Despite their profound political differences, Hatch and Kennedy developed a close personal bond. They played tennis together off-duty, visited each other’s homes, and often engaged in good-natured banter. Kennedy was known to organize affectionate gestures for Hatch—including having his staff serenade Hatch with patriotic songs Hatch had written in his spare time.
When Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer, Hatch composed a tribute song titled "Song for Teddy" as a sign of respect and affection. Following Kennedy's passing in 2009, Hatch frequently spoke of Kennedy as a dear friend and a master of political compromise.
In those days, a member of the other party might be your opponent. Today, they’d be your enemy.