News

Actions

WATCH: Congressman Kevin Yoder, Emanuel Cleaver II call for civility

Posted
and last updated

From the hate and violence the gunman displayed arose a new sense of unity in a place known for division, Washington D.C.

Previous story: James Hodgkinson: What we know about the man suspected of opening fire at Congress members

"This might, just might, be a turning point," Democrat Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver II said in an interview with 41 Action News.

It's that idea that congressmen Emmanuel Cleaver and Kevin Yoder share and are bringing their hope of bipartisanship home.

Thousands witnessed it in action at the ballpark Thursday night.

"We all lined up together or all hugging each other rooting for each other," Yoder said.

"People went out of their way trying to make sure that people understood that we were in this together," Cleaver said.

It came a day after a Belleville, Illinois man gunned down one of their own, Representative Steven Scalise.

Some describe this as a wake-up call.

"We're not asking people to stop fighting for what they believe and stop being advocates for what they believe in, but some of the stuff goes so far and the fighting and the anger online it's boiling over and this is obviously a natural manifestation of that," Yoder said.

As co-chairs of the Congressional Civility Caucus, Yoder and Cleaver wrote a column Thursday promoting exactly that, civility.

"It's no longer a difference of opinions on facts or solutions it is ‘I’m right and you're an evil person because you disagree with me’ and that is just not in Congress--it’s across this country--that's on Facebook--that's on twitter that's on cable news 24 hours a day," Yoder said.

"There was a time when members of congress would get elected and their entire families will move to Washington they all live on Capitol Hill they got along well together they played softball, golf on the weekends. It was a different time and they got things done," Cleaver said.

"We don't agree on a number of major issues that are affecting this country but we respect each other so we try to show hey if two people can do this then the whole congress can do this and ultimately are running joke is if a Missouri Tiger and a Kansas Jayhawk can become friends than anything is possible,"  Yoder said.

Both representatives tell 41 Action News they haven't received extra security as a result of Wednesday's shooting, but do have a heightened sense of awareness and will continue to be accessible to the public.

Watch the short interview here: