Thomas Daschle: “as we set to adjourn, I think back to what I said earlier this year about the need to set aside bitter partisanship and…”

“as we set to adjourn, I think back to what I said earlier this year about the need to set aside bitter partisanship and move towards a new politics of common ground. During campaigns, candidates and parties should be clear about where we stand on the issues and how we differ with our opponents so that voters can make a choice. That is an essential part of democracy. But we also have a responsibility to work together constructively, where we can, to find common ground. It is not simple, but it is the essential ingredient to making Congress work for the American people. By this measure, the record of the 108th Congress is mixed. At times, we have been able to work across party lines and, as a result, we have been able to make meaningful progress on some of the issues and challenges that matter most to Americans. There is no better example than the National Intelligence Reform Act. Senators from both parties worked together with the members of the 9/11 Commission and the families of the victims of 9/11 to pass real intelligence reform that will make our Government better able to deal with the new threats we face, and make Americans safer in the process. This legislation passed 96-2. It demonstrated how much common cause we can find--and how much we can do--when we put the needs of Americans first.”