Democrat Ami Bella was the first candidate to seek a seat in the Sacramento-area House of Representatives. Longtime Republican strategist Rob Stutzman was working to overthrow him.

Attacks flew like old western fists through broadcasts, newspapers and the mail.

Bella attacked Stutzman’s candidate, Republican Rep. Dan Rundgren, as a prisoner of war bought with special interest money. Stutzman hangs Nancy Pelosi, Democrats’ Unpopular Health Plan Around Bella’s neck.

Vera lost the 2010 contest, but came back two years later and defeated Lundren.

Fast forward to a recent scene at a fine dining restaurant near the Capitol.

Bella and Stutzman sit at a small table, smiling and sharing a bottle of wine while enjoying a family-style dinner. Cheers like your friends.

“It’s never personal,” said Stutzmann, who has demonstrated political skill for a generation of Republican candidates, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“It’s about winning, isn’t it?” Bella replied equally calmly.

Their improbable relationship has deepened partisan differences to the bone, with many Democrats and Republicans seeing their parties as tribes trapped in deadly conflict rather than as vessels for interests. visit when you are

As the former antagonists meet on a white tablecloth, the Sinatra-, Ella Fitzgerald-, and Bobby Darin-heavy soundtrack marks a rare and rare time when such bipartisan ties are less noteworthy. and create a nostalgic atmosphere.

“How did we end up here?” Bella asks about the country’s political militancy. More importantly, he’s thinking, “How do I get out of here?”

There are several courses on offer in the evening, but there are no easy answers.

The two connected through their shared love of golf and their mutual disdain for Donald Trump.

Stutzmann, who was widely cited for his disparaging remarks about the Republican frontrunner during the 2016 campaign, recalls spotting Bella at a French restaurant in downtown Sacramento that year. The legislator was hosting a re-election fundraiser. Stutzmann stopped to say hello. “You and I should actually talk more about our politics,” Stutzman remembers Bella telling him.

“Trump was trying to change things,” Bella interjected.

“We were starting to wake up, but there’s a lot to watch out for,” Stutzman replies.

Nothing came of their brief encounter until years later, when they passed each other again on a golf course near their home in the Sacramento area. Vera, a physician and former dean of the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, is back in the game after a decade-long hiatus. It was the perfect activity for life during the pandemic, outdoors, while maintaining social distancing.

The two started chatting after each round. About various congressional campaigns, common acquaintances, local politics, common friends, and common enemies Trump.

They ended up playing a few rounds together and hit it off.

It also helped that Mr. Vera tends to be more center-left and pro-business. (“Organized workers don’t like Bella, and neither do we,” claims the liberal group Progressive Scorecard, giving the six-term MP a low rating.)

Stutzmann is no longer as socially conservative as he used to be. (After campaigning to ban same-sex marriage in California in 2000, he abandoned that position long ago.)

It also helped that both are self-proclaimed institutionalists — people who fundamentally believe in our government and political system and want them to work better than they have in recent years.

This means being more mature and pragmatic, with less performance exaggeration and schoolyard antics.

“I think in the next 10 years, it will be a very narrow majority,” Vera said. More lawmakers, whether Democrats or Republicans in charge, should have the attitude of “negotiating for the centrist … each side gets a little bit of what they want and each side gives up something.” Otherwise, a relatively small number of extremist groups will be able to stem the tide.

Stutzmann nodded in agreement.

“At the end of the day, we all want similar successes for our state, national and local governments,” he says. Recognizing that and trying to find common ground “is what makes us the odd couple,” he said, referring to his friendship with Bella, “I think that’s the saddest comment of the day.”

Obviously, the two don’t agree on everything. On abortion, for example, he has been a scathing critic of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and abortion rights across the country. Stutzman is happy that states are still going their own ways and setting limits.

Bella is fully committed to President Biden’s re-election. Stutzman leans toward South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott.

But they agree on the big picture, lamenting today’s political incentive structures and the ways in which they reward conflict and stifle cooperation and compromise. Fundraising, TV appearances, and social media follower counts all increase in tandem with the level of provocation and outrage generated by politicians.

how do you solve that? they shrug their shoulders.

more food. Debating the 2024 Sacramento Mayoral Election

Question: If a suitable candidate were to emerge, for example a candidate willing to spend a lot of money to win a seat in Congress, would Stutzman sign him against Vera?

“At this point, no,” he says. “no.”

Take a break. “I’m not going to work anymore for He too. ”

they burst into laughter. Bobby Darin sings about beyond the sea. A bottle of Irish whiskey arrived.

Democrats and Republicans each poured two fingers and clanked their glasses.