Political Quotes

“for the last 2 months I have given a number of speeches here on the House floor to bring about a dialog on the need for a new way of doing business here in Washington. My remarks tonight will be a continuation of that dialog. All too often debates here in Washington do not focus on real problems and real solutions. Debates become battles between extremes with each side employing hyperbole to score political points. Neither side bothers to really listen to the opposing point of view. Each side blasts at the other with sound bites designed for partisan advantage and a spot on the evening news. I might just add that the debate that we just heard concerning the A to Z program that is being championed by my Republican colleague, the gentleman from New Hampshire [Mr. Zeliff], is the outcome where we have not been able to debate these things, and I think there has to be some dialog that allows us to get at the issues that are bothering the American people with regard to spending, and for that effort I think my colleague, the gentleman from New Hampshire [Mr. Zeliff], needs to be commended. But this extremism, when it is not allowed to take place in a deliberative and thoughtful process, creates false impressions, false questions, false choices, and ultimately, I think, faulty public policy, because real problems and real solutions are not typically part of the debate that takes place.”