Political interests can bring together people who otherwise have little in common. This saying is adapted from a line in the play The Tempest, by William Shakespeare: Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. It is spoken by a man who has been shipwrecked and finds himself seeking shelter beside a sleeping monster.
Stand fast, Mike!
Yes, indeed this whole situation is a misery alright... for poor Terri and her family.