With so much radicalization in the Louisiana GOP, it has been refreshing to see Sen. Bill Cassidy work with his colleagues across the aisle in the U.S. Senate to get widely popular legislation across the finish line in an upper chamber where good legislative proposals have consistently died in recent years.
Cassidy is in stark contrast with Sen. John Kennedy, the junior senator from Louisiana who has shunned any attempt at bipartisanship in favor of satisfying an increasingly radical Republican base.
Due to the balance of power in the Senate, Cassidy and his colleagues’ roles as a Republicans willing to work to get common-sense legislation passed is crucial to its eventual passage due to the need to overcome the filibuster threshold of 60 votes that political hobbyists have become closely acquainted with.
Louisianians can thank Cassidy for the passage of both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Both laws made history in their scope and impact which says something about the graveyard that Congress has become for good ideas in recent years.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest investment in federal transportation spending since the interstate highway system, yet it already represented a compromise from President Biden’s initial plan.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was only made possible by multiple high-profile shootings and yet it will do little to address the core of the problem—the insane number of guns already on our streets.
While Sen. Cassidy worked to advance these bills, they aren’t by any means concessions to Democrats but concessions to reason.
There is no serious opposition to either of these laws from the American public and working to ensure that the priorities of the people are advanced should be the aim of any political official.
It helps to restore my hope in our institutions that they have defenders like Cassidy who, despite our disagreements, I believe he cares about moving the needle on issues where we can find broad consensus.
If more politicians were like Cassidy, perhaps we wouldn’t live in the incredibly toxic political environment we find ourselves in where everything is a political battle and not about getting things done for the American public.
It has led to widespread distrust in our political institutions, and we need more people to reject the radicalism.
Cassidy was one of seven Republicans to vote to convict the former president last year in a show of his rejection of his party’s worst instincts.
Thank you for rising above the fold, Sen. Cassidy.
Charlie Stephens is a 21-year-old political communication senior from Baton Rouge