Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Steve Womack (R-Ark.) expressed concern that today’s lawmakers are setting bad examples for the next generation of American leaders, in a joint interview Sunday.
On NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewart, Crow and Womack — two U.S. veterans — underscored the value of military service and called for greater bipartisan cooperation and civility for the good of the country.
“I think more than anything, we are setting a terrible example for the next generation of great Americans. And there’s a legion of young people out there who look to us and basically decide what’s going to be acceptable, what’s going to be normal, as they rise through the ranks,” Womack said.
“And I think one of the real difficulties we have as a country,” he continued, “is that today’s models are failing in this opportunity to be able to represent what is good and great about our nation.”
Crow also emphasized the importance of maintaining common decency with people across the aisle, saying, “Public service involves sacrifice. It shouldn’t be about you.
“I think that’s the spirit we should return to,” Crow added. “In other words, America does great things. And we do our best when people put aside their self-interest and make sacrifices.”
Referring to Womack, sitting next to him, Crow continued: “And as a Democrat and a Republican sitting here, you know, we don’t always agree, we have debates, but you’ll never hear me, calling Steve ‘evil’ or evil him or question your motivations. We’re going to have a debate. We will try to flesh this out. Sometimes we’ll agree, sometimes we won’t, and then we’ll move on.”
The lawmakers are both members of the For Country Caucus, a group of about 30 congressional veterans who have worked together over the past five years to pass dozens of nonpartisan measures into law. Lawmakers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing this work.
“We will have rigorous debates,” Womack said. “It was designed to be messy. But when everything is ready, let’s have dinner. And that’s the problem today. We’re not going to dinner.
Womack said he would “like to see the country return to the era… where you could have these intense debates about very important issues – agree, disagree, do something that benefits the country – and then go to dinner.”
The interview takes place over Memorial Day weekend as Congress continues to reach new heights in terms of the level of public animosity it displays among members.
Just this month, a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing turned into chaos when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) clashed with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after the arsonist Republican accused Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) of using “false eyelashes”.
The comment — which was made during a call to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland accountable for contempt of Congress — sparked nearly an hour of disorder in the committee, with lawmakers yelling at each other and hurling insults left and right, leaving the chairman James Comer (R- Ky.) struggling to maintain order.
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