Hunley: A call for compromise

Why can't we all just get along?

This call for peaceful coexistence has become so common that it's hard to remember that it originated as a paraphrase of a Rodney King quote after riots rocked L.A. following the acquittal of police charged with beating him.

But it comes to mind after conversations I had with two of our three local congressmen last week.

President Barack Obama called for an end to partisan bickering in his first State of the Union address Wednesday.

And when I spoke with Rep. Frank R. Wolf about this, he mentioned something from recent political history I had forgotten.

That was the ability of former President Ronald Reagan and former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, though they traded barbs over the years, to work together when necessary, particularly on a deal in the 1980s to preserve Social Security.

Historical credit was given to the bipartisan Greenspan Commission (named for the future Fed chairman Alan Greenspan), but it was really Reagan, the GOP lion, and O'Neill, a darling of the Dems, that agreed to the deal, recent reports suggest.

That's because they were able to develop somewhat of a kinship behind the scenes, said Wolf, who represents Manassas, Manassas Park and part of western Prince William County. They could share a meal or a drink, and come to agreement.

"There's something magical about breaking bread," the Republican told me.

Obama and leading Democrats haven't found that common ground with congressional Republicans.

Sure, there are outward signs of bipartisanship, Wolf said. But what's really needed is to sit around a table and hammer out plans when the media isn't there. When it's for the greater good, not for a good sound bite.

"I think you need to develop a personal relationship and trust," Wolf said.

You don't have to have to be best friends, the congressman said, but you've got to get along on a basic level.

That lack of compromise in today's Washington is why Rep. Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly told me he can't co-sponsor legislation by his colleague.

Wolf has sponsored for the past three years a bill that would create a bipartisan commission to look at all aspects of America's economy. And unlike a similar group Obama has proposed, it would require that Congress vote on its recommendations.

But Connolly, a Democrat who represents much of Prince William, said he can't believe in the current political climate that GOP lawmakers would vote for tax increases if Wolf's commission deemed them necessary.

Likewise, he said he can't imagine many in his own party would support spending cuts if a commission said they were imperative.

Now, it's naïve to think that politicians in any era are going to agree more than they disagree.

(And, yes, for the especially cynical, I will admit that it's a more interesting story for us in the press when they don't see eye to eye.)

But today's problems, particularly those in the financial realm, demand that our elected representatives work in concert.

As someone who covers politics, I can't throw in with one side or the other. But, as I wrote earlier this month, we've got to hope for cooperation. That's not being unreasonably subjective. It's a wish for good government.

And if the politicos don't want to do it for me, maybe they'll do it for Tito.

You remember Tito the Builder from the McCain-Palin campaign, right?

He's Tito Munoz, a Woodbridge resident who owns a construction company. He's one of the big local political personalities with whom I speak a lot.

I called him last week because he was in the audience in Richmond when Gov. Robert F. "Bob" McDonnell gave the GOP response to Obama's State of the Union.

It's not a surprise that he didn't care for the president's speech. What was jaw-dropping for me was that he said his company has work lined up for only the next three months. What happens after that is anyone's guess.

Munoz said he's not afraid of failing. A Colombian immigrant, he said he's gone through times when he could afford to eat only one meal a day and had to sleep in a subway station.

But his story is just another part in the national chorus of economic anxiety. May that tune be drowned out by a cavalry call -- no matter what the cavalry ends up looking like.

Jonathan Hunley is a staff writer at the News & Messenger. Contact him at 703-369-5738 or at jhunley@insidenova.com.