Congress members’ holiday wish: less toxicity, more unity
A pair of lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle teamed up on Sunday to call for some unity this holiday season.
Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell and Republican Rep. Fred Upton, who both hail from Michigan, denounced what they described as toxicity that has taken over Washington and the “fear and hatred” that has tainted party politics.
“The tone gets tougher and tougher,” Upton told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s a pretty toxic place. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Dingell recalled a message from a crazed caller who called her profanities and said, “I pray to God, if you’ve got any children, they die in your face.”
“I want the American people to think about what’s happening in our country, that this kind of hate, this fear is happening in communities across the country,” she said.
She said the hateful calls increased after former President Donald Trump targeted her and her late husband John Dingell, a longtime member of Congress whose seat she now holds.
Upton, one of a handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, recounted the fear he felt on that grim day.
“I was in my office, but I have a balcony and I watched people go down the mall and I saw them come back, and I heard the noise and obviously was watching what happened,” he said. “It was real and shocking.”
Dingell and Upton said their friendship in spite of their political differences can provide an example for the rest of the country.
“I can have very strong disagreements even with Fred over some policies,” Dingell said.
“But I’ll always make her laugh at the end,” Upton added.
