Sanford Bishop: “I thank the gentleman for putting together this Special Order, and I thank the gentleman for yielding. Martin Luther…”

“I thank the gentleman for putting together this Special Order, and I thank the gentleman for yielding. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said: ``Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.'' Debate is a natural consequence of representative democracy. Gridlock, on the other hand, is not. Sitting down with those across the aisle is not just an act of placing faith in political or ideological adversaries, but an act of placing faith in our egalitarian democratic system, a system, as it was, founded on the art of creating consensus in order to move forward. All of us here speaking from the well this hour believe in working together for better government, working for responsible government, working for transparent government. The moderate Blue Dogs are here not only to find common ground between lawmakers, but to forge an understanding of what it is to truly work together. The Blue Dog Coalition is dedicated to a core set of beliefs that transcend partisan politics. We represent the center of the House of Representatives and appeal to the mainstream values of the American public. The coalition develops substantive proposals and positions distinct from those advocated by the extremes in both parties. Needless to say, we Blue Dogs are less swayed by the leadership of either party and more persuaded by the needs and the concerns of mainstream Americans. But this is nothing new.…”