Harold S. Sawyer Quotes

I hear from everybody, and they say 'Joe, nowhere but in Washington do they think not working together makes sense.' We're not hired to fight.

True bipartisanship isn’t talking about it. It’s delivering it.

I'm willing to meet with anyone, Democrat or Republican, who has a good idea, an open mind and a willingness to come together to tackle the challenges we face.

But if we can work with people in other parties to get the right answer for the country we'll do that.

I think it's very important to get ego out of the room. I think it's important to realize it takes two hands to clap - stop the pointing, stop the blame game. I think we've seen enough of that, I think the country is tired of it. I think they want to see Washington function, they want to see action.

Bipartisanship is “the oil of national government.”

Bipartisanship means you work together to work it out.

Too often bipartisanship is equated with centrism or deal-cutting. Bipartisanship is not the opposite of principle. One can be very conservative or very liberal and still have a bipartisan mind-set. Such a mind-set acknowledges that the other party is also patriotic and may have some good ideas. It acknowledges that national unity is important, and that aggressive partisanship deepens cynicism, sharpens political vendettas and depletes the national reserve of good will that is critical to our survival in hard times

Our country must be strong enough to solve problems, and that means we must learn how to work together again.

To get Congress working again, I'm dedicated to working with anyone who has an open mind, good ideas, and a willingness to work together.

Let's end the political games. Stop the finger pointing and do the work the American people sent us here to do.

Arizonans want us to come together, put aside politics, and solve problems. You want us to do our jobs in way that reflects the best of our state. You want us to stop and listen - something that doesn't always come naturally to people in politics.

I'll be reaching across the aisle to find opportunities to work with Democrats on the issues that desperately need to be addressed.

It used to be that Democrats and Republicans would disagree, but they could be social to each other. There were times during the year that we acted together in the good of the country.

You've got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country.

We simply must look beyond partisan goals and find common ground as Americans. It is imperative that the Members of Congress recognize that partisanship will not serve the American people.

The Republicans are coming - make nice.

I think that people have to reward those individuals who are prepared to work across the political aisle. I don't see any other way; if you don't talk to people with whom you disagree, you're never going to solve problems.

I think if you're going to get anything done in the Senate, you have to be on the same sheet of music. If you don't get people on the same sheet of music it comes out pretty horrible.

We aren't as divided as we think we are. We're not just Republicans sitting in one corner, and Democrats sitting in the other corner.

In the United States Senate, we cannot do great things without reaching across the aisle and working together - and I look forward to the challenges ahead.

We shall seek debate without division or rancour.

Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship.

Working together during the past three years, we have confounded the skeptics and the cynics. We've shown that here in Virginia, Democrats and Republicans can come together, put politics aside, and make tough decisions when times demand it.

Bipartisanship may be abnormal, but it does occur. The challenge is to explain why it occurs at all, and why it never lasts.