Political Quotes

“before I came to Congress I was a lawyer. I tried lots of cases, more than 100 cases to juries. My greatest victories, though, weren't the cases that we spent in a courtroom and worked on in a courtroom. My greatest victories were the cases that never saw the inside of a courtroom. As English poet George Herbert said, ``A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit,'' and that is true. It is always better to settle than to fight. I have done my fair share over the years of negotiating, both as a lawyer and as a Senator and as a Member of the House. I have a bit of negotiating advice for Republican leaders: You are doing it wrong. Generally during a negotiation, each side brings an offer or demand to the table. That is how it has always worked. Then the two sides sit down and find middle ground. It is not always easy and it is rarely fun. True compromise means no one gets everything they want, but unless both sides come to the negotiating table with an offer, you can't even begin the negotiation. In fact, unless both sides come to the table with an offer, there is no negotiation. Over the last week, Republican leaders from both Chambers have complained that Democrats put forward a proposal for resolving the fiscal cliff that reflected our priorities--our priorities. What did they expect? Our proposal is simple. We want to end unnecessary tax breaks for the richest of the rich and provide security for everyone making less than $250,000 a year.…”