By: Sönke Pietsch
An aisle can be a lot of things. It can act as corridor connecting one end of a room to another. It can be a catwalk for a fashion show. Some even consider it to be a pathway to prosperity. Yet in the United States Senate, the aisle has acted as the barrier between the two opposing councils: the Democrats and the Republicans.
As committee moves into its fourth session and representatives gear up to introduce their creative solutions to the issues addressed, delegates are increasingly finding that they have to cross the aisle separating the fractured, bipartisan room. While few tethers have yet to be thrown across the aisle towards the other party, some delegates have stepped out of line and amended their working papers to be friendly towards the opposing party. In doing so, delegates are increasingly walking the fine line that is the aisle between representing the beliefs of their constituents, and ensuring that their working papers have a chance of survival.
Making his way down the aisle in his committee room that separates the section of seats into two to give a speech at the front of the room, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama (Republican) presented his working paper addressing the upgrade and reorganizing the American powergrid to better fend off the possibility of foreign meddling. While Senator Shelby could technically pass his paper without the aid of other senators, as his party currently reaps the benefits of being in the majority, he nonetheless included clauses that were friendly to opposing counsel, the Democrats.
Other delegates, especially those from the Democratic camp, have not enjoyed these same benefits. For instance, Senator Smith (Democrat) from Minnosota has had to amend her working paper to make sure to secure the votes of the Republican camp. By making sure that industry is still allowed to use non-renewable sources in the short term, Smith hopes to garner the support of Republicans for her proposal that primarily focuses and using 100% green energy moving forward.
Yet, the fact that Smith, along with a handful of other Senators from both political parties, was willing to reach across party lines and listen to opposing opinions, goes to show that the aisle, with so many different meanings and purposes, is in fact only an illusion.