Political Quotes

“Now, after 16 days, one remembers the gleeful Republicans pouring out of the House Chamber on the early morning of October 1 so excited that they got the shutdown, the tool they would use to end the Affordable Care Act. Well, it has now collapsed in disarray on the eve of a far more serious deadline: flirting with the default on our national debt. I am embarrassed for my Republican colleagues who cannot figure out what they want as they tie themselves into knots, refusing to put a simple, clean continuing resolution on the floor that would end this madness, I guess because they fear all the Democrats and many Republicans would approve it, ending this sad chapter. It is fascinating what a destructive minority and rudderless Republican House leadership can do, inflicting damage in so many ways. This all would have been unimaginable in normal times. I tried to explain it on the air yesterday to a BBC reporter. I felt foolish and embarrassed. It is inexplicable. It is time to stop negotiating the terms of the release of the American people and their economy. There is a simple answer, and it is not necessarily calling the Republican bluff on the shutdown and debt ceiling. The answer is to encourage the Republicans to try and pass their own spending bills. Don't insulate them any longer from the specifics.…”