In show of civility, Nevadans to sit together at Obama speech

WASHINGTON -- In a symbolic show that politicians can get along despite their differences, Democrat and Republican lawmakers from Nevada plan to sit together during the State of the Union speech.

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley will cross over to the Republican side of the House chamber and will sit with Republicans Joe Heck and Dean Heller for President Barack Obama's address to Congress Tuesday night.

Republican Sen. John Ensign said he is pairing with a Democrat, although his office declined to identify the partner.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has supported the idea but as the Senate majority leader his staff was not certain what flexibility he will have on his seating arrangement.

Overall, more than five dozen members of Congress have endorsed the idea of bipartisan seating for the speech. Customarily, Democrats and Republicans sit on opposite sides of the House chamber.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., suggested that Democrats and Republicans scrap their normal seating plan as a show of civility in the wake of the Jan. 8 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

"I have every intention of moving over to the (Republican) side," Berkley said, while Heller said that sitting with his Democratic counterpart "shows that despite political disagreements we can find common ground and work together."

It remains to be seen whether the seating strategy will create a new spirit of civility. In an interview Friday on Nevada Public Radio, Ensign said he doubts it.

"Those kind of things happen usually for a few weeks and then people go back to how they were before," he said.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, which deeply affected elected leaders, there was a spirit of cooperation that lasted "for some time, and slowly people got back to doing their own things," he said.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760