Political Quotes

“I have often said that Speaker Boehner has a hard job. That was obvious last week when the House Republican caucus revolted to defeat the Speaker's farm bill. Even though the Speaker took the unusual step of announcing his support for the measure ahead of the vote, this bill went down in flames. It was the first time the House of Representatives has defeated a farm bill since the program was created in the 1930s. I admit I was sorry to hear the House Republican leadership blame the bill's defeat on Democrats, but I was not surprised. They had to blame someone. They could not blame themselves, even though they should. It was no surprise that House Democrats opposed this mean-spirited bill. The legislation would cut $20 billion from the safety net that keeps millions of Americans, including millions of children, from going hungry every year. That is what it was about. The farm bill eliminated 8 billion meals for hungry American families and children. That is what the House bill did. So it is no surprise that Democrats did not vote for a bill that whacked America's most vulnerable citizens. We have seen this film before. The Speaker should have known he could not pass legislation that amounts to a partisan love note to the tea party. He will be forced to take up a more bipartisan measure. He should do it now. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The Senate has already done the work that was necessary to be done. We passed a good bipartisan bill.…”