David Obey: “I would simply like to say to the gentleman who just spoke, the worst thing that can happen in this town is when we…”

“I would simply like to say to the gentleman who just spoke, the worst thing that can happen in this town is when we believe our own baloney, and the fact is I have just heard a lot of it. We hear speech after speech from the majority side of the aisle saying, It's them thar other guys on the other side of the Capitol what's caused this problem. That is really not the problem. The problem can be summed up in a quote from Shakespeare: "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves." I would say to my friends in the majority, you are in the majority. Act like it. Bring the bill to the floor. If you have got the votes, you have got the votes. If you do not, we will reach some other result. But do not stymie the Congress into paralysis and then govern by continuing resolution because you do not have the courage of your convictions. Bring the bills up and see whether the majority whip or other factions in the caucus win. The only reason the majority whip does not want to bring the bill up is because he knows he does not have the votes in his own caucus. I dare him to bring the Labor-Health-Education bill up. I dare him to put the President's budget on the floor.”