The new congressman for the “Big First” of Kansas (1^st District) took to the House floor on Valentine's Day to offer a few remarks on the importance of civility and bipartisanship in the political process.

Step back for a second and think about that. Kansas has a new representative, and he is saying openly that he wants to work with both his own party and Democrats to come up with the best solutions possible for his constituents in Kansas and for the rest of the country.

"I believe in iron sharpening iron and coming up with ideas together," freshman Rep. Roger Marshall said in his address. "I believe in defining problems together — to talk about the problem and then to discuss solutions together. And the hope is that you and I, my friends across the aisle and down the aisle, together can come up with better solutions for this country."

REP. ROGER MARSHALL

He's already part of the House Committee on Agriculture, where Kansas has gone unrepresented for the past four years, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he contributes to the process of writing a new farm bill during his freshman term.

Either this is a refreshing breeze of reason and fresh air blowing through the extremely stagnant halls of Congress, or this poor optimist will soon be found face down in his own despair. Time will tell if the ideals and standards he brought with him into this job can be shared and modeled, or if he will be trampled and silenced — or worse yet, forced into acquiescence of the disturbing inactivity that has become the congressional norm of the last eight years.

Marshall told his colleagues in Congress that he has spent the last two years listening to Kansans ask, "Why can't people in Congress get along? Why can't you respect each other?"

Since sixth-grade, Marshall said, he has been taught about respect. He quoted his teacher, Mrs. Tyner, who taught him and his classmates that the key to getting along was "respect for ourselves and respect for each other."

"That's what I’d like to bring to the 115th Congress — respect for each other and for each other's points of view, never questioning someone’s intentions or motivations," Marshall said in his speech.

"I believe that national defense is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. I believe the economy is not a conservative or liberal issue. I think these are American issues that we need to fight to make better. I certainly don't think that health care is a Republican or a Democrat issue.

"My pledge is to work with civility, to work with respect toward my colleagues across the aisle and down the aisle, and I look forward to truly making America a better place to live," he concluded.

For my part, I can't help being encouraged to hear a Kansas congressman standing up on the floor of Congress and talking like a Kansan that his constituents can be proud to call their representative. I don't live in the Big First. I'm in the 4th District, and my representative is tackling a bigger job as director of the CIA, so I am currently kind of a freelancer.

So, for now, I think I will just borrow Rep. Marshall and think of him as "my" representative. Courage to you, sir. I think you are going to need it. But I'm cheering for you.