A few years ago I was at Eastern Market in Washington, waiting in line at Bowers Fancy Dairy Products to pick some good Vermont cheddar. Coming in behind me was a member of Congress I knew, (now former) Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. I asked him what brought him to Eastern Market. He said, “Shhh … I’m buying cheese for a bipartisan whiskey tasting at my apartment tonight.”

Despite the barrage of hyperpartisan rhetoric flung on an hourly basis by members of Congress of both parties, there are still bipartisan gatherings that serve as havens. Even during the government shutdown, plans are underway to continue with bipartisan staff and member events.

When I worked in the Senate, our office had the good fortune to get a detailee from the military for a year, a brilliant Air Force colonel. After

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