Political Quotes

“Democrats and Republicans have some serious differences when it comes to our policies and our values and our priorities. But one thing we should be able to agree on--the bare minimum expected of us in Congress--is that we should not actively allow our constituents to be hurt. That is why Senate Democrats will be here today with a clear message to Republicans: Open the government. End the shutdown. Allow the government to open, make sure our families and communities that we represent do not have to pay the price for the disagreements we have and then come back to the table and work with us on a long-term budget deal to avoid these constant crises. Majority Leader Reid has made it very clear to Speaker Boehner that he is willing to sit down and talk, and I truly hope House Republicans take him up on that. On Monday night, as the government was shutting down, Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans lurched even deeper into the theater of the absurd. I was shocked. I could not believe my ears when I heard, with minutes to go before the shutdown began, Speaker Boehner was asking us for a conference on the spending bill. I thought: Is he serious? Is this some kind of joke? Even by the standards of a party that shut down the government to stop the health care reform law that was going to come online yesterday, no matter what they did, that was bizarre. I say to Speaker Boehner today: Yes, let's start a budget conference. It is a bit late.…”