O.C. Register - "Rep. Sanchez reaches across the aisle"

Jan 26, 2012

 

By O.C. Register

January 26, 2012

 

There were some ceremonial bipartisan displays at the State of the Union, but few were as playful as that shared by Reps. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, and Michael Grimm, R-NY.

The assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords last year prompted some Congress members to forego the usual State of the Union seating, which is typically self-segregating by party affiliation. Grimm sat with Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY.

"Even though I'm constantly having to correct Michael on his positions during our joint interviews, I always enjoy a good, bipartisan spirited debate with him and we need more of that in Congress," Sanchez said.This year, he and Sanchez made a date to sit together. The two co-chair the bipartisan Congressional Morocco Caucus, and frequently face off on TV.

Grimm said the comment was typical of Sanchez.

"While Congresswoman Sanchez often has opposite views and tries to hog the camera in interviews, I am pleased to be sitting with her," he said in their joint news release.

In a State of the Union speech analysis on NPR featuring the two, Sanchez joked, "He's my Ricky to my Lucy."