It’s 6:40 a.m. at an undisclosed baseball field in Washington, D.C., one week before the annual game between the two parties in Congress, and no one is here.
Practice for the Democratic team was supposed to start at 6:45 a.m. But it isn’t until 6:44 that three Democratic members mosey into the dugout. No one is stretched. No one is ready. A dog named Foxy is wandering around home plate.
Eventually, around 7 a.m., Rep. Linda T. Sánchez begins the process of trying to get the practice going, which starts — in a very congressional way — with a roll call. But about half of the team is absent. Multiple names are called and met with awkward silence. Congressional hearings get a better turnout than this.