Tip O'Neill said that, "All politics are local." He was correct, but a corollary is that, "All politics are also personal." A nice word, a human act, or a show of sympathy is likely to override policy differences or ideology. If you doubt me, take a look at longtime representatives...

Before Vietnam; before JFK, MLK and RFK went down; before we started beating up on one another; before we starting hating one another; before we all became cynics -- there was a moment when all seemed possible. At the time of the 1960 Democratic Convention, I was twelve years old....