The September 17 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contained an article that should give all of us hope.  The article was co-authored by our own Congressman Ron Kind, and a conservative Republican Congressman from the eastern part of the state, Jim Sensenbrenner.

The title was, “Let’s keep bipartisanship alive,” and it focused on the fact that both men have made cooperation a priority even in today’s hyper-partisan political climate.  The article states that both men work hard to take the responsibility of public service seriously.

Between the two of them, they have sponsored more than 20 pieces of bipartisan legislation so far this year, including the AFFIRM Act and the National Scenic Trails Parity Act.

The article goes on to say that our state is neither blue nor red, but rather purple with a long history of leaders from both parties.  So, the state’s leaders should take a bipartisan, common-sense approach to problem solving, with a culture of respect and appreciation for one another.  Although these men have different ideological beliefs, they will continue to look for ways to solve the problems of the people in our state – and all Americans – by working across the aisle and actually working on “compromise,” a word that seems often to be forgotten in today’s political environment.

The true meaning of compromise is that neither side is completely happy with the outcome – because both sides have to give on some issues to reach an agreement that all can live with.  Disagreements will always happen, but it is possible to find common ground.

Both Congressmen will continue to encourage open discussions, listening and respecting each other’s point of view.  Hopefully everyone in Wisconsin’s statehouse and the US Congress as a whole will once again embrace bipartisanship as the way to solve our problems.