Sen. Marco Rubio's speech pleading for civility in the Senate drew very little attention.
But The Fix column in The Washington Post noted it's "an important address" and worth listening to.
The Florida Republican made his remarks after the sometimes contentious debate over President Donald Trump's nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general.
"I don't know of a civilization in the history of the world that's been able to solve its problems when half the people in a country absolutely hate the other half of the people in that country," Rubio said.
"We are becoming a society incapable of having debate anymore."
And he added: "We are reaching a point in this republic where we are not going to be able to solve the simplest of issues because everyone is putting themselves in a corner where everyone hates everybody."
The newspaper column said it is easy for some to discount what Rubio says.
"He, of course, is someone of considerable political ambition," the column pointed out. "And Rubio clearly believes it is in his long-term best interests to establish himself as a voice for civility and reasoned debate during his time in the Senate."
But it cautioned about dismissing his comments entirely.
"The election of President Trump seems to have proven … that the way to win is to relentlessly vilify the other side so that your people are mad enough at the other side to turn out to vote," the Post column said.
"Rubio is positioning himself as the counterweight to that strategy, betting big on the idea that the Trump era won't last forever. It's a noble effort although one with a very uncertain future."
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