Mike Ross Quotes

We need less bipartisanship in Congress.

In Washington, compromise has become a dirty word.

The people in Iowa know that Washington isn't working. It's devolved into partisan politics and a lot of gridlock and obstruction.

There is too much blind partisanship in Congress, which has blocked progress on critical issues. Too many members view compromise as weakness rather than the essence of our democracy. This has to end.

Both parties are so entrenched in their ideologies and a desire to score political points and hold on to power that we never seem to agree on a problem, much less find solutions.

I think too many of the politicians in Washington have forgotten simple ideals like solving problems and helping neighbors. The Washington game is more about scoring points or sticking it to the other guy.

Congress is unable to do the work of the American people because too many politicians believe that compromise means capitulation.

So the - the part of the problem is not just the rhetoric. It's the fact that we - we're so polarized in what we've done to each other as parties over the last thirty years in redistricting that it's very, very hard to overcome your own constituencies and move to the middle.

I don't look forward to a time when every politician, every legislator goes to Washington absolutely committed to an extreme point of view. Elected representatives are sent to Washington to compromise, not to never compromise.

One of the tragedies of the Bush administration is that we went back to business as usual, make a deal with the Democrats, let's all be friends in Washington philosophy.

Everywhere I go - from Main Street to Wall Street - people ask, 'What's happened to our political system? Why can't Washington folks work together?'

And I'm here to tell you, the reaction that I'm getting around the country, people are sick and tired of this word in Washington, compromise. This is why nothing ever gets done.

President Bush said that he wanted to change the tone in Washington. He has; it has gotten worse.

You used to get legislation done by getting the moderates to agree. But we have no moderates now so it doesn’t get done

Reaching consensus has gotten harder. Today, a minority if the minority plays hostage politics. It’s all or nothing politics at its worst.

The middle in Congress is gone now. That is where we got most things done.

I'm tired of divided government. It doesn't work very well.

We're all tired of a Washington that has these partisan camps where nothing gets done.

You'll never get progress in Washington until you have a majority, bipartisan majority, that really wants to solve problems.

Washington is a complete mess. It's become a venue for partisan bickering, where the needs of the working class just don't matter.

Politics presents few win-win situations for partisans on either side.

At its worst, Washington is a place where name-calling partisan politics too often trumps policy.

Given the slow pace of Washington's bureaucracy, policymakers are often busy solving yesterday's problems. This rearview mirror approach afflicts Mr. Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress.

The only bipartisan place in D.C. is Brooks Brothers.

It's a sad indication of where Washington has come, where policy differences almost necessarily become questions of integrity. I came to Washington in the late '70s, and people had the ability in the past to have intense policy differences but didn't feel the need to question the other person's character.