Jim Webb: “for nearly 2 years, our legislative process has too often become sidetracked by what can only be termed an…”

“for nearly 2 years, our legislative process has too often become sidetracked by what can only be termed an ``indiscriminate obstructionism.'' A lot of good ideas have fallen by the wayside, having become hostages in the larger debate about who should comprise our national leadership and how we should solve long- term problems, such as our fiscal crisis. This larger debate has affected the willingness of many in the other party to come together and address a number of serious issues of governance that should be resolved no matter who is President and no matter how we end up addressing the economy. I would ask my friends on the other side of the aisle to think hard about the overwhelming frustration across our country with the persistent failure of the Congress to address these kinds of issues. Nowhere is the need to think creatively for the good of the country more clear than where it affects our dysfunctional criminal justice system, the challenges of which threaten the safety and the well-being of every single community and every single American. This system will not be fixed by sticking our heads in the sand and pretending not to see its failings. It will only be fixed by bringing together the good minds of those who have dedicated years of thought and action to finding answers. That is what we have been trying to do. Unfortunately, that is what we were stopped from doing by this filibuster.…”