Republicans and Democrats Decide to Sit Together During the 2011 State of the Union Address

It’s time again for the yearly State of the Union Address by the President of the United States. Although there are no required seating arrangements, the congressional members usually sit segregated by political party as they do when Congress is at work. Then, when the President makes statements about what he hopes to accomplish in the coming year, one side of the room stands and applauds while the other side remains seated and tries not to make faces. Some contend that this arrangement contributes to the political divide in Congress instead of encouraging legislators to join together in unity as ideally they should at this time.

As you may have heard, Sen. Mark Udall (D) from Colorado has called for Congress to avoid dividing themselves by party this go round and to intermix their seating with fellow legislators from the opposite party. He suggested that it would at least give an appearance of solidarity if nothing else. The idea originated with the moderate-progressive group Third Way after the Arizona shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D) of Arizona and others to encourage political civility.

Apparently, some members of Congress have since been clamberingto find a date to sit next to for the occasion. The word is that Mary Landrieu (D) from Louisiana has courted her “best bud” Olympia Snow (R) from Maine on the Small Business Committee to sit with for the occasion. Others who have paired up include Kirsten Gillibrand (D) from New York and John Thune (R) from South Dakota. It did not go unnoticed that we have here a pair with good hair flocking together.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) from New York has magnanimously decided to stomach Sen. Tom Coburn (R) the conservative from Oklahoma for the occasion. Schumer quoted on CBS' Face the Nation: "I think if Coburn and Schumer can sit next to each other, then probably just about everybody can,"

Senator Jeff Sessions (R) from Alabama told Greta Van Susteran that he had a date with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) of Minnesota.

When someone inquired about who Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell would sit with, they were told that he would sit with whoever decided to sit next to him. He insisted Americans were more concerned with results than seating arrangements.

And in the House, the third-ranking Republican, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, told reporters that he’s happy to sit with his Democratic colleague, Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, who is also supportive of Udall’s proposal.

Representative Chris Murphy commented regarding the possibility of bipartisan seating: “I hope we can. I am actually chairman of the group called the Center Aisle Caucus and it’s a group where Republicans and Democrats come together on a pretty regular basis to try to create and repair some friendships. I think that that does make a difference. I think if you know more people on the other side of the aisle you’re much less likely to yell at them in the context of a political debate. So I hope that this happens for the State of the Union and I hope it catches on.”

Others have simply decided to sit in groups according to what state they are from, regardless of political party. Grouped this way, Democrats and Republican can tolerate each other better since they share similar concerns related to their particular states. Senator Bill Nelson (D) of Florida remarked that the Florida delegation traditionally sits together so he would be sitting with Marco Rubio (R) regardless. Others will be paired up according to their similar committee memberships as in the case of Landrieu and Snowe.

Some have questioned the motivation behind this. Because many of the congress members in favor of it are Democrat, some Republicans see it as an attempt to minimize Republican influence. They are asking why the Democrats didn’t do this while they were the ruling party in Congress during the past two years.

One House Democrat has publicly resisted the idea: Rep. Jesse Jackson (D) from Illinois said: “The president’s speech on economic rights for the American people should bring us together, not the seating chart.”

A CNN poll found that 76% of responders favored bipartisan seating whereas 22% thought the old way was preferable. A Fox News poll found that 56% of those polled thought it was a good idea but 39% thought it was silly.

Anyway, it shall be interesting to see how this pans out tomorrow.

The Third Way organization documented a History of Partisan Seating at the State of the Union:

*There is no rule that mandates partisan seating at the State of the Union—but it has become part of the time honored tradition of the House of Representatives.

2011 January 25 - Representatives and Senators from both parties break 98 years of tradition and sit together for the State of the Union.

2011 January 19 - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells George Stephanopoulos that she “absolutely” would sit with Republicans if she were still serving in the U.S. Senate.

2011 January 19 - Illinois Senators Dick Durbin (D) and Mark Kirk (R) decide to sit together at the SOTU.

2011 January 16 - On NBC’s Meet the Press, Senators from both parties—Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Coburn (R-OK)—endorsed the idea of bipartisan seating. “We hope that many others will follow us,” Sen. Schumer said. “Now, that’s symbolic, but maybe it just sets a tone and everything gets a little bit more civil. We believe in discourse in America. We believe in strenuous discourse. We don’t sweep differences under the rug.”

2011 January 14 - House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy announces his support for sitting with members of the opposite Party.

2011 January 12 - Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) sends a “Dear Colleague” letter to every member of Congress asking Senators and Representatives to end nearly 100 year tradition of partisan seating at the SOTU. Note: A current list of co-signers to the letter is available on Senator Udall’s website <http://markudall.senate.gov/>.

2011 January 10 - Third Way President Jon Cowan sent an open letter to Congressional leadership suggesting that bipartisan seating at the State of the Union could improve the state of political discourse in Washington.

2002 President George W. Bush delivers his SOTU before a divided Congress, which is made available for the first time via web video.

1983 Democrats mockingly applaud President Ronald Reagan during a line in SOTU, helping to create the aura of partisanship that surrounds speech.

1965 First evening State of the Union Address delivered by President Lyndon Johnson—watched by millions on television. Considered first “modern” SOTU.

1947 President Harry Truman delivers State of the Union on television for the first time. Divided government seen live by public. Representatives and Senators continue to be seated by party.

1923 President Calvin Coolidge delivers his State of Union before a divided Congress—millions listen on the radio for the first time.

1913 First time since Thomas Jefferson, President Woodrow Wilson personally delivers State of the Union before a joint session of Congress—Representatives and Senators observe the House’s partisan seating tradition.

1845 Partisan Seating begins. Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other becomes common practice/tradition in the House of Representatives.