Fresh evidence Friday that some of the fresh faces on Capitol Hill are making an effort not to follow in the footsteps of the congressional class that came before them.
While many of the newcomers in 2010 became known for increasing the gridlock on the Hill, at least some of the freshman class of the 113th Congress are trying to embrace bipartisanship. In fact, a group of 36 freshman members signed a letter last month calling on leaders of both parties to "put partisanship aside and our country’s future first."
That spirit of reaching across the aisle was evident on The Daily Rundown Friday when Reps. Luke Messer, R-Ind., and Steve Horsford, D-Nev., joined Chuck Todd. Both men come to Capitol Hill from their state legislatures. With Messer nodding in agreement, Horsford told Todd that "we work across party lines to get things done that need to get done in state government."
Messer, who is the president of the Republican freshman class, told Todd that this freshman class is "a little bit unique" because it is fairly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Messer said that even though "there's not very much that brings us together" he's hoping to create more efforts to get everyone together.