Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President. Madam Speaker, colleagues, good morning. It's great to be with you. As you may recall from our last report to Congress, the Association has put some energy and focus into the question of bipartisanship. Everything we do at the Former Members Association is done in a bipartisan manner. Our leadership is comprised equally of Republicans and Democrats. Our delegations are led by bipartisan teams of former Members of Congress, and our projects involve both Republicans and Democrats equally. We truly are a bipartisan organization where Members from across the political aisle come together for common purpose. We have found that, for a number of reasons, this type of bipartisan interaction has become more and more difficult for current Members. This development has many causes, many of which are beyond the control of today's Members. Our association, therefore, has created a new undertaking, the Common Ground Project, with the purpose of finding ways in which Democrats and Republicans can work together for the good of this country. The origin of the Common Ground Project can be found in our Conference on Bipartisanship which we hosted last year at the National Archives in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center. Three panels examined our current political discourse, how bipartisanship--or the lack thereof--has influenced our political decisionmaking process, and the way the media influences this Nation's political climate.…”