Republican and Democratic lawmakers called for unity on Sunday, following a deadly shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people.
Lawmakers from both parties agreed that tensions have lately reached a boiling point, culminating with a string of attempted bomb attacks against prominent political and public figures and the devastating shooting. They further conceded that the fierce rhetoric from their members must be done away with.
“No one should be politicizing what happened this week,” said Representative Ben Ray Luján, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We should come together as a country. This should not be a political response, but rather a response at how we can further bring us together.”
The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Representative Steve Stivers made similar comments and said Democrats should not be seen as the enemy, but merely a political opponent.
“We need to come together and do what’s in the best interest of America. No matter who wins in 10 days I believe we can come together and make that happen,” he noted. “We all bear some responsibility, and we need to try to clean up our act and try to bring more civility to our Congress, and frankly, to our dialogue,” he added.
However, despite their calls for civility and unity, the two lawmakers also threw some accusations at each other as the midterm campaign enters its final full week before the November 6 election.
Stivers accused the DCCC of running “sleezy” ads and not pulling support for candidates who he claimed have made bigoted comments, while Lujan said the NRCC ran “racist” ads in some states. Stivers further defended an NRCC advertisement linking Minnesota Democratic candidate Dan Feehan to billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is often deemed the donor who “bankrolls the ‘resistance’.” He maintained the ad was factual and had “nothing to do with calling for violence.”
Yet, their joint interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” ended with both Representatives agreeing that the two sides need to tone down their rhetoric and stop the finger-pointing.
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