AP photo U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, above, won high praise from Western New York’s U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy.

Bad blood between political parties has created disruptions in the nation’s capital for the last 12 years. The most recent turmoil came in the form of the third government shutdown during that time period.

Looking in from the outside, there is plenty of culpability on both sides to get a deal done. Republicans have the majority and did little to discourage gridlock. Democrats, just as troublesome, exhibited a stubborn and sore-loser demeanor.

But what has happened for more than six weeks has been completely unfair to federal workers who are showing up to the job and not receiving a paycheck. It put those already struggling to make ends meet — day-to-day — in more vulnerable positions, especially those receiving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. Pantries across the region were already facing struggles as the numbers they are serving continue to rise at alarming rates.

At the moment, thanks to last weekend’s breakthrough, there is greater consensus in Washington. The government will get back to doing business, which is something U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy of District 23 — that includes Chautauqua County — has consistently advocated for from the start.

“I understood that governing means putting the country first, putting the taxpayers first,” he said during a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday, “and certainly putting them above politics to keep the lights on in the government for the American people. That’s what responsible leadership looks like.”

Langworthy then gave credit to those who made the federal standstill come to an end. He specifically singled out Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman as one of eight Democrats who sided with the Republicans to fund the government through January.

“He showed intense courage standing up against his own party in every single one of those 15 votes,” Langworthy said. He consistently stood up for what is right and spoke plainly about the need to end this nonsense. That is what real political courage looks like.”

Fetterman, on his own web page, admits his left leanings. When he was elected as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, he transformed the position into a bully pulpit, advocating for marijuana legalization, economic justice, equal protection for the LGBTQ+ community and criminal justice reform.

Many of those items Fetterman fought for have already taken place in New York. Pennsylvania, however, has a greater balance in its politics. Opposite Fetterman representing the state is U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican.

Highly maligned after winning election in 2022 to his current position, Fetterman’s struggles have been well documented. Absenteeism for Senate votes and committee meetings was at a high rate after he was hospitalized and battled depression in 2023. He even suffered a stroke while campaigning for the seat.

Today, he stands tall — not only for his 6-foot-8 stature, but for understanding politics is what was holding the nation back. “America decided to put (the Democrats) in the minority,” Fetterman said this week as a guest on “The View.” “In terms of leadership right now, what defines leadership for me, that’s order and logic. … We were all energized by the election just last week. For me, it’s like, hey, let’s take the win on that. Now we know there’s a lot of backlash to this kind of chaos.

“Voters are going to respond to more order … not violating our core values to plunge our country into chaos.”

Bold statements like these could ultimately lead to losing the support of his party and Fetterman serving only one term as senator. But what’s wrong with that? Career politicians usually are only looking out for themselves.

In New York, Sen. Charles Schumer was a breath of fresh air when he started in 1999. Unlike his predecessor in Alfonse D’Amato, he made it a priority to visit every one of New York’s 62 counties, a tradition he has continued for another 25 years.

Even though he is still making those appearances and reaching out to his constituency, his connection to this shutdown could be his undoing. That is a result of becoming insulated in Washington — and a perception of losing touch with those you count on for election.

John D’Agostino is the editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.