When push comes to shove in Washington, D.C., party loyalty almost always finishes first and the substantive merit of ideas comes in second.

While there’s no doubt partisanship is stronger than ever in the Mississippi Legislature — and growing — it’s still true that members of the Senate have the ability to weigh an idea and cast their votes independently.

Last week, 31 of the 52 senators in Mississippi voted to amend a House bill and restore millions of dollars the Senate budget committee removed during the back and forth over this year’s allocation to public schools.

Nine Republicans and 22 Democrats voted to add about $2 million to pay teachers who have National Board Certification and more than $27 million to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The amendment would also increase MAEP funding by an additional $50 million if Congress changes federal law and Mississippi saves more than $150 million in Medicaid costs.

To vote for the changes suggested by Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, the nine, including Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, had to go against the wishes of party leaders, including Appropriations Chairman Sen. Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo and Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. But they did it because they thought it was the right and reasonable thing to do.

Mississippi and other states will continue to be buffeted by winds of the national economy. Not much can be done about that. Making the best of a bad situation requires the proverbial “good faith and fair dealing.” Partisanship and rancor make bad situations worse. Glad to say the Senate avoided that trap on this vote.