At Nationals Park on Thursday night, during the annual Congressional Baseball Game, Republicans and Democrats sat in opposite sections. But all rooted for one team: Team Scalise. For a few hours, just a day after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) was shot while practicing at a baseball diamond in the Virginia suburbs, the game was a rare moment of unity.

Before the first pitch, both teams trotted out to second base and huddled around each other for a moment of prayer. And after the game, which the Democrats won 11-2, the Democratic manager, Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA), gave the trophy to the Republicans to put in Scalise’s office.

“Not here this evening, but in our thoughts and prayers–Steve Scalise,” boomed the loudspeaker at the end of announcing the GOP’s lineup. Both sides of the stadium responded with a raucous standing ovation. There were other unifying symbols: some members from both parties wore Louisiana State University hats and shirts, in a nod to Scalise’s alma mater. Signs in both the Republican and Democratic sections read: “Scalise Strong” and “Team Scalise.”

President Donald Trump delivered a video message to the 60 or so congressmen on the field: “By playing tonight, you are showing the world that we will not be intimidated by threats, acts of violence, or assaults on our democracy,” Trump said. “The game will go on.”

The view from the Republican side. Image courtesy of Alec Siegel for Law Street.

But not all of the record-setting 25,000 attendees felt that this fleeting moment of unity signaled a shift toward bipartisanship.

“The country is not going to get past partisanship,” John Blasko, wearing a Washington Nationals jersey and carrying a blue, Democratic foam finger, told Law Street. “It’s not going to happen.” Blasko, who works in real estate and sells merchandise at Grateful Dead shows (he’s been to 410, by his count) said partisanship in the U.S. “couldn’t be worse.”

Blasko is not hopeful Wednesday’s shooting will lead to any significant change in the political climate, saying it “means nothing.” But still, despite his fatalistic outlook, Blasko’s parting words were befitting of a Grateful Dead die-hard: “everybody love everybody,” he advised.

That sentiment seemed distant on Wednesday morning, when John Hodgkinson, a vocal Trump critic, stormed the GOP’s practice in Alexandria, Virginia, with a rifle. He sprayed the field with bullets, hitting four, including Scalise and Capitol Police officer David Bailey, who threw the first pitch at Thursday’s game. As of Thursday evening, Scalise remained in critical condition, and “will be in the hospital for some time,” the hospital that is treating him said in a statement.

The stands on Thursday were full of hope for the future, in spite of Wednesday’s attack.

Julian, a sophomore at Yale majoring in political science, said the political climate “could be better.” Still, he told Law Street while munching on nachos early on in the game, “I don’t think we’re on a downward slope, I think we’re going to be fine.” He said the unity on display Thursday night is “one of those markers to the public that yes congressmen can be bipartisan, yes they can cooperate, yes they are friends in the office. They’re not just bitter enemies.”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Wednesday morning, at a baseball diamond in Alexandria, Virginia,  a man opened fire on a group of Republican congressmen who were practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) was shot and is in stable condition, but needed surgery. At least two police officers and one staffer were injured as well. The shooter, identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, has died, according to President Donald Trump.

The incident comes at a time of intense political polarization in D.C. and across the country, a fact that Wednesday’s tragedy only underscored.

Who is Steve Scalise?

Scalise, the third-ranking Republican in the House, was reportedly “in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone” after being shot in the hip. He is being treated at a nearby hospital. The 51-year-old has been in Congress since 2008, and in 2014 was elected to the position of majority whip. Before he was elected to the House, Scalise served in the Louisiana legislature. He recently helped pass the American Health Care Act, House Republicans’ Obamacare replacement. According to his House biography, Scalise and his wife have two children, and own a home in Jefferson, Louisiana.

There’s a Congressional Baseball Game?

This annual charity baseball game, in which Republican and Democratic congressmen face off at Nationals Park, began in the early 20th century. This year’s game is scheduled to be played on Thursday, and will reportedly go on. After years of Democratic dominance, Republicans won last year’s game 8-7. A showing of bipartisanship, the game is also meant to raise money for charity.

The Shooter

Shortly after spraying a baseball field full of GOP congressmen with bullets, Hodgkinson was shot by Capitol Police. Hours later, he reportedly died while being treated at a hospital. Short and stocky with a wispy white goatee, Hodgkinson, a native of Belleville, Illinois, had reportedly been in Alexandria for two months. Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC), who was present at the scene, told BuzzFeed News that Hodgkinson came up to him before the attack and asked if the players on the field were Democrats or Republicans. Duncan’s account has not yet been corroborated by other sources.

According to the Belleville News-Democrat, Hodgkinson belonged to a number of anti-Republican groups, including “Terminate the Republican Party,” “Donald Trump is Not My President,” and “The Road to Hell is Paved with Republicans.” Hodgkinson also has a criminal history: he was reportedly arrested in 2006 for assaulting his girlfriend.

PHOTOS: Shooter identified as James T. Hodgkinson pic.twitter.com/77fnpblbBZ

— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) June 14, 2017

Politicizing a Tragedy

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, people on both sides of the aisle took to Twitter with political takes. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, retweeted Harlan Hill’s claim that the recent, highly controversial Shakespeare in the Park performance was to blame for Wednesday’s attack:

Events like today are EXACTLY why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our President

— Harlan Z. Hill (@Harlan) June 14, 2017

Others branded the attack as “leftist terrorism,” referring to the shooter’s apparent support for the Bernie Sanders campaign:

The Orlando massacre was about islamic terrorism.

The shooting of Steve Scalise is about leftist terrorism.

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) June 14, 2017

But still, with all of the politicizing and vitriol, there were some hopeful signs to be found on Twitter:

House Democrats pray for Republican colleagues and others injured in a shooting at a GOP baseball practice https://t.co/9zo4CnICPv pic.twitter.com/0VYxEJ93jA

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 14, 2017

And back at the Capitol, as Scalise’s colleagues prayed for his quick recovery, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) delivered a statement, saying “an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.” Sanders also issued a statement, saying he had “just been informed that the alleged shooter at the Republican baseball practice is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign.” He added: “Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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