WASHINGTON
— One night every summer, Democratic and Republican members of Congress
trade their suits and ties for cleats and gloves in a longtime D.C.
tradition: the Congressional Baseball Game. It’s meant to be a way for
lawmakers to mingle and engage in a little good-natured bipartisan
bonhomie, free of partisan posturing and rancor…or something like that.
For
the most part, Thursday night’s game lived up to its romantic
expectations, but — this being D.C. — partisan politics weren’t kept at
bay for too long.
This year’s installment — the 54th under the sponsorship of the Roll Call newspaper — saw
the Democrat and Republican teams’ all-time records in the series tied
up. The Democrats came into the night having won the last six games
behind the arm and bat of Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-Louisiana, a former
college baseball player. This year, though, Republicans said they had
fielded their best team in years, and felt poised to break the streak.
Two
Minnesotans — 1st District Rep. Tim Walz and 3rd District Rep. Erik
Paulsen — played for the Democratic and Republican squads, respectively.
Baseball isn’t exactly the specialty of either man. Walz — a former
high school football coach — is a Congressional Baseball Game rookie,
and Paulsen is a hockey fanatic. According to an aide, the Republican
likes to join in because his D.C. roommates — including Republican
Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana — play. It’s a prerequisite for
living in their house.
As Republican and Democratic
staffers trickled into Nationals Park just south of the Capitol, Walz
and Paulsen joined their teams in warm-ups on the field. Walz, wearing
the purple and yellow baseball uniform of Mankato State University, was,
as they say, just glad to be there. “It’s really fun — I can’t believe
it took me so long to do this,” he said. Paulsen arrived at the
Republican dugout wearing the uniform of the Minnesota Baseball
Association's Chaska Cubs.
While lawmakers were mostly
fun and games, the consensus was that the environment surrounding the
game was a bit more political than usual. It fell on the eve of the
House of Representatives’ huge vote on Trade Promotion Authority and
Trade Adjustment Assistance, and as lawmakers took the field, Obama and
GOP leadership were furiously trying to sway lawmakers on both sides to
vote for the package. Most Democrats intend to vote no on TPA, and may vote against TAA to block the package entirely.
Obama in the dugout
So when Obama showed up in the Democratic dugout in the bottom of the third inning — well, things got a little weird.
The
Democratic side of the stands—where many held up “no to fast-track”
signs — began cheering wildly when they got a glimpse of Obama, who’s
arguably the face of fast-track. Chants of “O-ba-ma!” swirled around.
The president then moved over to the Republican dugout to shake the
players’ hands. This is not friendly territory for him, but that night,
he was greeted by applause and chants of “TPA!”
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Barack Obama posing for photographs in the dugout at the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
When
all of that subsided, though, there were some genuinely nice moments
and playful displays of trash talk. The GOP side of the stands, crowded
with young interns and staffers and felt like a college student section,
held up signs like, “Democrats can’t get to first base.”
Rep. Linda Sanchez ignites the crowd
On
the field, after Richmond hit a double to center late in the game, the
Republican pitcher, Mark Walker of North Carolina, gave him a pat and
looked to congratulate him. In the final inning, when the game’s only
female player — California Democrat Rep. Linda Sanchez—took the field,
both sides cheered. When she crushed a line drive to right field, the
ballpark was loud — major-league loud.
No matter what happens on
Capitol Hill today, Democrats can at least say they still own bragging
rights on the baseball diamond. After a close contest for most of the
game, the Democrats opened it up late, and ended up winning 5 to 2,
extending their streak to seven. Paulsen stayed on the sidelines, but
Walz—an avid runner — got in a pinch run late in the game.
