“Welcome to ­Washington, where we put the ‘fun’ in dysfunction,” said John ­Feehery, columnist for The Hill (a congressional newspaper that ­publishes daily when Congress is in session), political commentator, and president of a Washington-based communications firm, in his opening comments at the March 10 General Session.

Joining Feehery at the session was A.B. Stoddard, associate editor and columnist for The Hill and a national political commentator on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, PBS, and other networks.

The two panelists each provided insights into the current state of politics and policy in the nation’s capital and its impact on the economy and public transportation, among other topics.

Political support for public transportation is “a regional thing,” Feehery said. “The Midwest and Northeast love mass transit. [Speaker of the House] John Boehner, [a Republican] from Ohio, has an appreciation for mass transit. Bill Shuster [R-PA, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee] does too,” Feehery said.

However, the commentator called MAP-21 “insufficient” as far as public transportation’s need for stable funding. “Shuster wants to do the right thing. He wants to conduct a bipartisan committee to get stuff done,” Feehery said. But he added that consequences exist for Republicans perceived for going outside the party mainstream.

Feehery pointed out that Virginia’s Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, proposed swapping the state’s gas tax with an increased sales tax as a better way to pay for transportation in the traffic-congested state.

“He’s getting crucified—almost as much as Chris ­Christie did for welcoming Obama to New Jersey after ­Hurricane Sandy,” he added.

In her remarks, Stoddard described the difficulty in covering such issues as public transportation in the national media. “[DOT Secretary Ray] LaHood has been a great messenger for public transportation, but it’s difficult,” she noted. “Policy discussions can’t get past the budget fights. Not much does.”

Still, she pointed to bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for public transportation, innovative partnerships, infrastructure investments, and economic growth.

Stoddard said she sees some indi­cations that Republicans and ­Democrats might be ready to compromise: “There’s a growing number of ­people in both parties looking for ways to work together. Maybe there’s an appetite to solve ­problems. The American people really can’t tolerate anymore gridlock. Both parties recognize this so maybe we’re seeing signs of hope.”

URS Corporation sponsored the session.