Mark Z. Barabak: A Democratic and Republican battled for Congress. They became unlikely friends
Democrat Ami Bera was a first-time candidate seeking a Sacramento-area congressional seat. Rob Stutzman, a longtime GOP strategist, was working to defeat him.
Attacks — on the air, in newspapers, through the mail — flew like fists in an old Western.
Bera assailed Stutzman's candidate, Republican Rep. Dan Lungren, as a bought-and-paid-for captive of special interests. Stutzman hung Nancy Pelosi and Democrat's unpopular healthcare plan around Bera's neck.
Bera lost that 2010 contest, then came back to beat Lungren two years later.
Fast-forward to a recent
