Passion. Shouting. Not backing down. These are, increasingly, the hallmarks of politics today. There are many calls for civility, for a return to the statesmen (and women) who used to haggle and argue and compromise to reach a position that would move our country forward. But those calls for moderation are too often drowned out by the inflamed passions on either side.

And therein lies the problem we have as moderates. We believe in compromise. We believe in civility. We believe in meeting our opponents on common ground. But many of us often don't have the passion to make ourselves heard, or the energy to overcome the blustering roadblocks of the extremists.

But on occasion, we see a chink in their barricades.

On the occasion of his primary loss to Mike Pompeo, Todd Tiahrt received an unexpected phone call. Democratic candidate for governor, Paul Davis, called to offer his sympathies for the loss. You can read a transcript of the phone call in the article linked below.

What happened then is now legendary. Mr. Tiahrt, appreciative of the gesture, thanked Mr. Davis publicly on his Facebook page.

And the extremists blew up. The vitriol and name-calling took off. Davis came under fire as a socialist, anti-family, and devious. One writer suggested that Tiahrt should be careful for his political future. One writer compared this to Chris Christie hugging President Obama during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. And that is exactly what it was. Two politicians, on opposite sides of most issues, seeing each other for decent human beings and being civil to each other.

MainStream would like to applaud both Mr. Davis and Mr. Tiahrt.

Here is the article on the exchange, from the Kansas City Star: Todd Tiahrt posts friendly message from Paul Davis on Facebook, some conservatives riled