Acrimony permeates Congress, so some lawmakers are trying to find treatment

Acrimony permeates Congress, so some lawmakers are searching for therapy

Braver Angels, a pro-civility team, is counseling customers of Congress on decreasing the partisan temperature on Capitol Hill. The challenge is convincing lawmakers that compromise is in their fascination.

  • Partisan rancor between Capitol Hill lawmakers is pervasive and obstructing legislative compromise.
  • A professional-civility group, Braver Angels, is meeting with Democrats and Republicans to reduced tensions.
  • United states Today sat in on two sessions in which lawmakers shared personalized stories of triumph and heartache.
  • Skeptics say the properly-this means approach won’t go far when members are rewarded for remaining partisan.

WASHINGTON – They spoke of alcoholic fathers and cancer-stricken daughters immigrant grandparents who encouraged them and abusive moms and dads they escaped. They shared jokes, comforted each other and even choked up.

For a few moments recently, seven Property lawmakers – five Democrats and two Republicans – collected in a superior-ceilinged listening to home close to the U.S. Capitol to shed their partisan armor and ditch their talking points. In two separate classes moderated by a properly trained family therapist, they spun own stories of triumph and heartache, engaging in the straightforward act of finding to know every single other far better.