Chapter 1 - Across the Great Divide   

The seeds of congressional cooperation will not grow in barren soil; bipartisanship must be nurtured and fed... not only do members of Congress need to leave the “echo chamber” of Washington more often, they also need to spend more time outside their own districts or states. 

What better way to learn about America than jointly touring it with a counterpart from across the aisle? What better way for members of Congress to get to know one another—as real people from real places with shared American values—than to meet on each other’s home turf? Spending time in each other’s living rooms, backyards, and neighborhoods is the best way to build the personal relationships necessary to withstand, and eventually transform, the divisive nature of Washington.

So let us call upon the members of Congress to immerse themselves in the melting pot of America and to do so hand in hand with their supposed “opponents” across the aisle. They need not renounce their partisan ideals. Nor do they need to agree to like each other, although they may find—to their surprise—that they do. They simply need to meet on each other’s turf, as fellow Americans, to begin understanding each other and America’s diverse challenges and opportunities... [Purchase the book here to keep reading]