Democrats and Republicans are facing off in the annual Congressional Baseball Game Thursday night, a day after a gunman opened fire at a practice for the GOP team and left several people injured, including Rep. Steve Scalise.
The Illinois congressman grew emotional as he described seeing his colleague, Rep. Steve Scalise, lying motionless on the ground.
The first pitch was thrown by one of the two heroes of the shooting, member of the Capitol Police David Bailey, who along with colleague Crystal Griner are credited with taking down the gunman.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she favors more money for the U.S. Capitol Police, which is seeking an 8 percent increase to almost $427 million for next year.
Both parties will take the field Thursday night, while some from the Republican team roster will be missing.
As the House returned to business, lawmakers sought some semblance of normalcy even as they offered prayers for the wounded and echoed the president in pledges of unity. This year, proceeds will go to The Washington Literacy Center, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, and the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation.
More than $1 million has been raised for Congressional Sports for Charity, and more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the game, the organizers wrote on Facebook Thursday afternoon.
Organizers made a decision to go on with the game on Wednesday, hours after the shooting. “That we’re not going to let the bad guys or the crazies interrupt our lives”.
The partisanship that has flared so bitterly in recent months melted away, according to House Democrat Joe Crowley, who was en route to his own team’s practice that morning when he heard the news.
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) is playing at second base tonight.
At the women’s game, which raises money for young breast cancer survivors, local families who come to watch are so close to the field they can practically touch the center fielder. Having some control problems, Meehan allowed four more runs – including Richmond, who was already on third – and didn’t return for the sixth. Democrats were on a winning streak for several years before the Republicans won the last game in a squeaker, 8-7.
Richmond called the lack of Congressional security – which is only provided for top ranking members like Scalise – “embarrassingly inadequate”.
“We have no intention to remove all bullet fragments at this point”, he said, noting that is common because finding and removing that many fragments is more risky than leaving them inside the body.
Numerous people at the ballpark interviewed by HuffPost expressed hope that the event would send a message to Americans to come together. “So important. So we all owe Steve a big, big thank you”. “We both love America regardless of what party we are”.
Not everyone agreed about the bipartisan nature of the event, however. “And Scalise was a state representative around the same time”, DuBos said. We don’t want to sit with the Republicans at all.
In this baseball game, the victorious team gave a member of the losing team the winner’s trophy.
President Donald Trump did not attend but sent a video message of support. “I’m not just talking about the general, ‘I hope you die, ‘ ‘I hope you get cancer.’ We’re all getting those, too, but some of those are more threatening, and you have to take those seriously”. It is a rare and genuine opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to put their divisions aside and show those gathered in the stadium and watching across the USA, that they are not just politicians – they are people and players. “Ryan and Pelosi First Joint Interview Ever”.