Bipartisanship & Compromise

They say that nothing is going to be accomplished here; the division is wider than ever, so gridlock will be even greater. No, this won’t be done in a tidy way. The battle of ideas never ends, and, frankly, never should.

If we’re going to have arguments, let’s have arguments -- but let’s make them debates worthy of this body and worthy of this country.

Almost impossible to believe that Tom Coburn's last sentient act in the Senate is blocking a bipartisan veterans suicide bill. Sleep Well, Senator.

The…problem in acknowledging good news - not just for the press but for the public - is that it has come to feel partisan, like an endorsement of whoever occupies the White House.

After Florida State, [we’re at] 90 school shootings since Sandy Hook. Newsflash to my colleagues – this isn’t normal. Do something.

I think we may need to call [Obamacare] something in the future different, but it is working…Obamacare, no question, has a very bad brand that has been driven intentionally by a lot of misinformation and a lot of paid advertising.

If the ways that we’re approaching the Republicans in Congress [aren’t] working, I’m going to try different things -- whether it’s having a drink with Mitch McConnell or letting John Boehner beat me again at golf, or weekly press conferences - I don’t know if that would be effective…Whatever I think might make a difference in this, I’m going to be trying out up until my last day in office.

To those Members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.

Let`s face it, the city is really in a panic at this point in anticipation of this [grand jury] decision…On behalf of [Michael Brown’s] family, I reiterate for the umpteenth time - and they wanted me to make it crystal clear - they do not advocate any violence, any looting, any rioting. They are totally against that.

We want to believe that diversity can transform the relationship of police to the communities they serve. But odds are good that it doesn’t, and it won’t. Given the fraught history of blacks and law enforcement, blue—it seems—is the only color that matters.

I would rather die than be in the United States Senate. I would be bored to death. Could you imagine me, banging around that chamber with 99 other people, asking for a motion on the amendment in the subcommittee? Forget it…You'd watch me just walk out and walk right into the Potomac River and drown. That would be it.

¦Activism is like ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’…If a judge is called an activist, you know the person saying that doesn't like the decision.