GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Two Florida senators say opening a dialog can help change divisiveness over politics, not only in Washington but in homes and communities across the country.
- Florida senators want to change tone of politics ahead of Decision 2020
- Crowd gathered at UF to hear how bipartisanship worked
- Rubio cited bipartisan bill filed with Elizabeth Warren
A crowd gathered at the University of Florida on Tuesday to listen to former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
The senators shared their insights into how political polar opposites managed to get so much done.
"It's impossible to get things done in the Senate on a partisan basis," Rubio said.
Republicans and Democrats often have to rely on each other.
Rubio responded to a Spectrum News investigation that found Florida revoking a record number of medical licenses because of student loan defaults.
The Rubio-Warren bill would block that.
"I disagree with a lot of things that Elizabeth Warren stands for, but we have filed a bill together," Rubio said.
"Today, people are more isolated from each other than they've ever been, so often times all they know about each other because they're reading each other posts on Facebook is who you voted for. And if all you know who you voted about someone is who they voted for, in this era in particular, it's really easy to dislike them," he said.
Nelson continued: "Where is our soul? Where is our character? Where are our values? These are things that we have got to restore in our daily conversations."
Nelson said this focus on ethics and leadership goes far beyond politics. It goes into business, health care, and education.
Nelson plans to have a similar event soon focused on what he says was a lack in leadership that brought down two space shuttles and led to the loss of 14 astronauts' lives.