Will 'New Civility' Survive Upcoming Debates?

With a number of hot-button issues coming before the 112th Congress, the “New Civility” being called for in the country’s political debates will be put to a serious stress test beginning this week, the National Journal reports. Few issues have inspired more heated partisan warfare, for example, than the drive to repeal the new national healthcare law — a rollback effort that House Republicans are launching today.

House Republicans also plan to try to cut non-security spending to 2008 levels. How politely the parties debate that measure as well as healthcare repeal remains to be seen.

But other circumstances could conspire to keep tempers in Washington cooled. For one, the Democrat-controlled Senate won’t be taking up the House measures right away. And the forthcoming State of the Union address is shaping up to be an occasion for promoting cross-party calm and unity in the wake of the Tucson shootings.