Michael Oxley Quotes

While Washington's establishment ... is whipped into motion by the mere whiff of an emotional issue or scandal, there is no reward in today's Capitol for fixing the broken mechanics of government or solving the huge problems that haunt us.

Congress actively undermines the best of legislative practice.

Congress is good at two things: Doing nothing and over-reacting.

In Washington, you have imaginary problems, and they can't even solve the imaginary problems.

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.

It's a cliche that the Senate is broken, and like most cliches, it's true.

You can see how dysfunctional this Congress is.

There is a problem in Washington, and the problem is bigger than a continuing resolution. It is bigger than Obamacare. It is even bigger than the budget. The most fundamental problem and the frustration is that the men and women in Washington aren't listening.

It's always useful for a politician to bash Congress.

Why is it so hard for the Congress to do something for the public?

Washington has become a place where good ideas come to die.

The crowd that is running Washington today has had 12 years and it failed

The people do not approve of Congress. Count me among them… Congress has always been a mockery since the beginning of our country.

One of the reasons Americans hold Washington in such low regard is the perception that nothing ever gets done. Whatever the issue - no matter how urgent - they always seem to be 'working on it.'

I've had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should. There is much too much partisanship and not enough progress.

Washington is not good at getting things done.

Overreaction is one of the things that congress specializes in. I can't think of anything congress does better than overreact.

We do have our challenges. Some things don't always work right in Washington, and the anger you see from the electorate, I think, is a reflection of what's not working right.

Congress seems to be very good at doing nothing.

Our political system has been bankrupted by the failures of Congress to act in ways that give meaning to the struggles our constituents endure.

Americans from all walks of life have voiced their deep frustration with Washington's seeming inability to get anything constructive done. For decades, they have watched politicians talk a good game while failing to deliver.

Our political system seems to be proving itself almost incapable of dealing with what's been put before it. The decisions it is making, or fluffing, are so vital and yet are inevitably so compromised by the endless political calculations of all involved.

Whether you're a veteran or a millennial, it's hard to argue that big government has solved your problems efficiently, if at all.

For too long, Paul LePage tried to stand in the way of getting things done in Maine.

You wonder sometimes how our government puts on its pants in the morning.