Rep. Peter Roskam (IL) wrote a piece for Politico today. Roskam used to work with Obama on the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee. Please see the following excerpt:
Mr. President: Business in Washington doesn't have to be this way. You need not be pushed to the left and you can work across the aisle like you have in the past.
That is what I told President Obama a few weeks ago at the GOP caucus. He really does have an ability to work in a bipartisan manner. I know because we worked together for years to solve problems in the Illinois Senate.
Today's health care summit doesn't have to be a regurgitation of an unpopular health care bill. Nor does the President have to embrace Congressional Democratic leadership, which has systematically stiff-armed Republicans out of any conversation about solutions. Sure, health care is a contentious issue, but President Obama has successfully worked with Republicans under similar parameters.
When we served together on the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, we worked collaboratively, crafting and passing sweeping death penalty reform legislation. Obama later called it the signature legislation of his state senate career.