Pols: Game must go on, for charity

LAWMAKERS had a clear message after Republicans’ congressional baseball practice was shot up on Wednesday morning: “Play ball.”

The managers of the Republican and Democratic baseball teams held a joint press conference hours after one of their own was wounded by a gunman at an early morning practice to make clear that Thursday’s charity game — one of the last vestiges of bipartisan spirit in the nation’s capitol — will go on.

“We’re playing the game tomorrow. We’re united not as Republicans and Democrats but as United States representatives,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.). “It will be ‘play ball’ tomorrow night.”

Barton said that the Fallen Officers Fund had been added as one of the charities that will benefit from the game, which has been played nearly every year since 1909.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), Barton’s friendly rival, said that the two had agreed, “We’re not going to let incidents like this change our way of life or our daily routines.”

Doyle was one of the Democratic players who heard about the tragedy during their own practice across town, and huddled in the dugout to pray for their fellow congressmen.

He invited the entire Republican team to the Democratic Club for dinner Wednesday night to “share some food and drink and get to know each other a little bit better” with a goal of lowering the hate-filled invective that both men said had gone too far.

Not expected at the night game at Nationals Park is President Trump, who reportedly can’t come because of security concerns.