Our view: Bad blood in DC

“Well, stand your butt up then.”

“You stand your butt up.”

— Your Congress at work

History tells us that members of Congress have behaved badly before.

For instance, on May 22, 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina assaulted Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane, beating him to within inches of his life.

Sumner, an abolitionist Republican, had made a passionate speech against slavery and Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat, took exception, both to the theme of the speech and disparaging references Sumner had made to some of Brooks’ fellow Democrats.

For instance, in reference to Sen. Andrew Butler of South Carolina, Sumner said:

“The senator from South Carolina has read many books of chivalry, and believes himself a chivalrous knight with sentiments of honor and courage. Of course he has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight — I mean the harlot, Slavery. For her, his tongue is always profuse in words.”

Already infuriated both by Sumner’s sentiments and his pointed rhetoric, Brooks had considered challenging Sumner to a duel. But he had been advised that Sumner did not deserve that honor because he was not “a gentleman.”

So Brooks pummeled Sumner nearly to death in public with a cane instead.

Sumner was unable to return to Congress for six months. And the incident only added to the kindling that ignited the Civil War.

Thankfully, in 2023, no one in Congress has whipped anyone else with a cane. At least not yet.

But you have to worry, given how petty and unserious things have gotten lately.

To wit, last week, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) chose to flaunt his fluency in pro rasslin’ bravado in of, all places, a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing.

You may have seen the video.

After quoting a months-old social media post, in which by Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien had described Mullin as “a clown & fraud,” and challenged the senator to a fight, “Anyplace, Anytime, cowboy.”

So Mullin invited to O’Brien to rumble, right then and there.

“You want to do it now?”

“I’d love to do it right now.”

“Well, stand your butt up then.”

“You stand your butt up.”

The presiding senator, Bernie Sanders, banged his gavel.

“Stop it … Sit down … You’re a United States senator,” Sanders told Mullin.

On that very same day on Capitol Hill there were other flare-ups — enough to make you wonder if there’s something in the water.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy allegedly shot an elbow to the ribs of a fellow Republican, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who had voted for McCarthy’s ouster.

In an Oversight Committee meeting, a shouting match erupted between Republican Rep. James Comer and Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz during which Comer lobbed the ultimate insult, calling the blue-suited Moskowitz a Smurf.

Some chalk up the testy exchanges to overwork. “This place is a pressure cooker,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

But few would accuse this Congress of working too hard.

Obviously, fissures among Republicans that persist from McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker still run deep. But the number of disagreeable disagreements has been building for some time, dating back to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s threats toward some Democratic colleagues and constant heckling by Greene and other Republicans during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in February.

We should expect better.

Beyond appearances, name-calling and schoolyard threats are symptoms of more serious problems: deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans; deep divisions within the parties themselves, especially Republicans; and the wages of gerrymandered districts, which encourage extremism, and too often reward unqualified candidates.

The people’s house is also a stage. That means the world is watching. And what the world sees is aimlessness, disarray and an inability to govern.

In other words, what the world is seeing is a sign of weakness.

Even given the often messy processes of a democratic republic this behavior is unacceptable. Congress is neither a bar nor a locker room nor outfield bleachers at a Phillies game.

Our elected officials should either grow up or go home.