Bipartisan sentiment in Congress unlikely to last despite baseball game distraction

Terence Mann once told Ray Kinsella in the 1989 classic movie "Field of Dreams" that baseball "reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again."

That was certainly the case at Nationals Park on Thursday after two days of trauma — both physical and mental — that reminded the Capitol Hill community that sometimes there are bigger things at play than politics as lawmakers took part in the Congressional Baseball Game.

A day after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot at practice Wednesday morning, the game took on a new meaning as members were still feeling shockwaves when they took the field in the annual contest that pits lawmakers of both parties against each other. However, there was more at stake this year than the scoreboard (the Democrats won 11-2) as they struggled with what took place and how to move forward.

"This is what our country needs after such an act," said Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who witnessed the shooting take place. "There are a lot of people who don't believe Republicans or Democrats talk to each other. They think we fight about everything, and this game should show ‘em all that we come together in America's pastime and we have fun and we compete, and at the end we shake hands."

"The best part of the game is I sit behind home plate and I jaw with my Democratic counterparts because they're my friends," said Davis, the GOP team's catcher, "and that's a message I want to get out to people."