Massachusetts and South Carolina Senators, Still Making HistoryMassachusetts and South Carolina represent the bipolar state of American politics — the two original states that could not be farther apart on everything, back in 1776, back when the Civil War broke out and even now. Their deep divide started over slavery, resulting in a near-murder in the Senate, and can still confound. But here's a fascinating thing: There are two black senators out of 100, and they represent these states, from up North and down South. By chance, each was appointed to fill a short gap. The Southerner, Tim Scott, is a Republican; the New Englander, William Cowan, is a Democrat. South Carolina, the most mischievous state in the Union, takes pride in its leading role in the Confederacy: secession, Fort Sumter and all that. Visitors to the fair state get an earful and wonder what's so great about that. Last we looked, didn't the Civil War end 148 years ago? Apparently not there. It's the biggest thing that ever happened. That's why I noted with interest that President Obama woke from his sequester slumber and called Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to organize a dinner outing yesterday. For once, Obama sat down at a table full of Republicans, his political enemies in Congress, seeking common ground. It's not easy to do that — ask the author of the 23d Psalm. It can feel like the valley of the shadow of death. So I admire that appeal, a little late to the game. From history's vantage point, the remarkable part is an African-American president reaching out to a white South Carolina lawmaker from the rival political party. For all the blood and tears shed over race the last century and a half, American politics has arrived at a new place in our journey. Remember, Graham is tight with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has no love lost for Obama, his 2008 presidential opponent.
The stakes are high for Obama, who was riding high on a second inaugural wave. Now in the tense days of March, he sees he has to get his House in order in 2014 — the Democratic Senate and Republican House will allow him few gains, if any. The hard reality is his beautiful words do not sing to the House Republicans, led by hard-boiled House Speaker John Boehner. They are a tougher crowd than he faced on the campaign trail, and they do not wish him well. In the current configuration, nothing major — immigration, gun control or climate change — will get done on the president's watch. Back to our bipolar states. Truly, Massachusetts and South Carolina together acted as a catalyst to the Civil War, as its lawmakers clashed over whether Kansas should be a slave or free state. In the old ornate Senate chamber, Charles Sumner gave a seething abolitionist speech. In a diatribe that lasted two days, he attacked South Carolina's honor and accused its aging senator of having a mistress: "I mean the harlot, slavery." In years past, South Carolina's Sen. John Calhoun was an equally famous, fiery defender of slavery and states rights. Sumner's 1856 speech aroused the wrath of a South Carolina congressman, Preston Brooks, who came to the chamber days later to attack Sumner in the most brutal assault in Senate history. He smashed his cane onto Sumner's head and kept beating him, striking the senator 30 times. A Kentucky senator, John Crittenden, tried to rescue Sumner, but was held off by an accomplice of Brooks. It took Sumner two and a half years to recover and return to the Senate, on the eve of the Civil War. In 2013, the presence of Sens. Cowan and Scott is no historical mirage, but a signpost of the times. The good news: As far as we know, no fights have broken out between these gentlemen. Call it progress. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM 
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