Rand Paul Hosts ‘Bipartisan’ Coffee Chat, Only One Democrat Attends
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United States Senate(WASHINGTON) — In the spirit of bipartisanship, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. extended an invitation to colleagues from both sides of the aisle to join him for coffee on the Capitol steps Thursday morning.
But with Congress divided as ever over the current government shutdown, only one Democratic senator attended – Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.
“Let’s sing kumbaya,” Carper said as he approached the group.
Clutching cups of coffee, the conversation ranged from Obamacare and the government shutdown to football games and congressmen’s favorite baseball cards.
Carper and Paul were joined by a small group of their colleagues – Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wy., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C.
Paul said Democrats were reluctant to meet in public because they worried it sent a signal that they were negotiating.
“I talked to several of them and they said they would meet privately but they didn’t want to meet in public to show they’re negotiating,” Paul explained to the group.
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