Partisan rancor aside …

In a world drenched in partisan rancor, it’s refreshing when politicians from opposing parties seek common ground in service of a broader good.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, who along with LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump this week at the White House, has taken heat for conferring with the (political) enemy.

But the critics have it backward: It’s a good thing, not a bad one, when political rivals can work together for the public good on what should be nonpartisan issues. 

Bass and Barger met with Trump in DC to press for more federal help for victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which in January 2025 tore through parts of LA and destroyed about 16,000 structures.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, who along with LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump this week at the White House, has taken heat for conferring with the (political) enemy.

Bass and Barger met with Trump in DC to press for more federal help for victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which in January 2025 tore through parts of LA and destroyed about 16,000 structures.

More than a year later, thousands of residents remain displaced as they struggle to rebuild. 

After the confab with Trump, Bass and Barger sounded a confident note: They think the prez will help fire victims with more federal aid and ramped-up pressure on insurance companies that have been slow pay claims.

Good. 

Better — for both LA and California — to cooperate with would-be benefactors than to antagonize them.

Besides, the Dems’ constant resist/fight/curse/decry-as-Nazis schtick long ago grew stale. 

It might help them raise money and rally the far-left base, but such hysteria does nothing to advance the broader public interest. 

On the other hand: Genuine conversation just might lead somewhere.

BTW, we don’t suggest that either side sacrifice principles to “compromise.” This is more about holding civil conversation to pursue common ground, in this case on an issue — disaster recovery — that carries little ideological freight.

Either way, basic discourse for the public benefit is the least the taxpaying public should expect of elected officials, regardless of political affiliation.

So good for the mayor and supervisor for chatting with the prez.

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