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“Something is broken,” the Missouri Democrat went on to say. “If we don’t have the strength to look in the mirror and fix it, the American people are going to grow more and more cynical.”
As senators who were either ousted in the elections or decided to retire and not seek another term reflected on their time in Congress, many expressed dismay at how divided Washington has become as lawmakers retreat to entrenched partisan positions that leave little room for compromise or common ground.
‘This is not a normal time’
McCaskill and Hatch weren’t the only ones sounding alarm bells.
But while departing senators had unique messages to impart, the overarching idea that there’s a problem with the current state of politics was a consistent theme.
“What in the world has happened to civility and to humility in our nation’s public discourse?” Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who lost his seat in the midterms, asked in his farewell speech.
“Tribalism is our problem, and if not corrected, it’s going to take our country down,” he warned.
Year marked by ‘loss of comity’
The farewell speeches came as the most recent session of Congress drew to a close in late December — a session that has been punctuated by a series of bitterly contentious fights on Capitol Hill.
In the end, only one Republican — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — opposed the nomination, while just one Democrat — Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — sided with Senate Republicans to elevate Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Hatch said during his farewell speech that “many factors contribute to the current dysfunction,” but added, “If I were to identify the root of the crisis it would be this: the loss of comity and genuine good feeling among Senate colleagues.”
Don’t be afraid of ‘tough votes’ and other advice
As departing senators outlined concerns in their farewell speeches, many described what they believe has contributed to the highly divisive political climate and what they think needs to change.
McCaskill urged lawmakers to have the courage to take “tough votes.”
“Solving the toughest problems will not happen without tough votes,” she said. “We can talk about the toughest problems … we can argue about them, we can campaign on them, but we’re not going to solve them without tough votes.”
Nelson and outgoing Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, who also lost his seat in the midterms, suggested that an influx of big money in politics has had a corrosive effect, making an argument common to the Democratic Party.
In his farewell speech, Donnelly said that “the divisive rhetoric, the political campaigns, increasingly funded by tens of millions of dollars, anonymous, dark money interests is really doing damage to this country.”
Nelson argued that another issue is the “constant attempts to disenfranchise voters and make it more difficult for every American to have their voice heard at the ballot box.”
Hatch, meanwhile, decried “identity politics,” a concept often invoked critically by Republicans, who frequently accuse Democrats of subscribing to it.
“We must reject the politics of division, starting with identity politics,” the Utah Republican said, adding that “identity politics is nothing more than dressed-up tribalism. It is the deliberate and often unnatural segregation of people into categories for political gain.”
‘I love this place’
In their farewell speeches, departing senators also reflected on fond memories of their time in Congress, and some expressed optimism for the future despite their concerns.
“For all the problems I’ve outlined, know that I love this place,” McCaskill said. “We have fought, we have cried and we have laughed together. Just like family.”
Hatch went on to say that “to address this body is to experience a singular feeling: a sense that you are a part of something bigger than yourself, a minor character in the grand narrative that is America.”
Despite his warnings, he said he was leaving the Senate “grateful and optimistic.”
“Serious challenges lie ahead, but any honest reckoning of our history … will note that we have confronted and survived more daunting challenges than we now face,” Flake said. “Ours is a durable, resilient system of government, designed to withstand the foibles of those who sometimes occupy these halls.”
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