Political Quotes

“Madam President, no one can count the number of times this Chamber has heard calls for compromise. That call has come from Senators of good faith, from Senators on both sides. Indeed, it is the very essence of the legislative branch, which was purposefully designed to run on consensus by our Founding Fathers. As Senators we search for the right arguments, and the right incentives that will help us strike the right balance--a balance that will let the Senate and the country move forward. But there has been no stronger argument for bipartisanship than the series of budget votes over the past few days. Last week, the Senate voted on two proposals--one written by Republicans and one written by Democrats. Some Republicans voted against the Republican bill and some Democrats voted against the Democratic bill. In the end, neither passed. Yesterday, the House voted on another Republican proposal. Again, some Republicans voted against their own party's plan--a lot of them did--and some Democrats voted for the other party's plan. This time, it passed--but only because it had bipartisan support. We don't know what will happen when that same question comes before the Senate this week, but we know we won't see a strictly party-line vote. The lesson is obvious: Neither party can pass a bill without the other party, and neither Chamber can send that bill to the President without the other Chamber.…”