Robert Byrd Quotes

I think partisanship is probably the greatest problem in Washington, D.C.

Partisanship has gotten worse and worse.

People are so quick to demonize and stereotype those on the other side that they often say that it's impossible to work with people on the other side.

I think one of the things that we are facing right now is that we've stopped listening to each other in our politics.

I've been studying the Constitution for myself but also as a way for me, as a Democrat, to comprehend the Right. I think it's important that people who are politically active understand both sides.

Each side had its uninformed fanatics. And each side had political leaders who fanned the flames with their rhetoric.

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

People at the political extremes have an advantage over the rest of us. Only they seem to know exactly who and what is wrong with America and precisely what policies and programs should be adopted to fix it.

There is very little chance of the modern Republican Party putting the national interest above their own partisan interests.

I think the political process has degenerated into name-calling and extremism, and I think that that's unfortunate.

Well, I don't know too many governors who are flaming ideologues.

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

It used to be you had real friends on the other side of the aisle. It's not like that anymore. Society has changed. The public is to blame as well. I think the people have gotten dumber.

A healthy degree of party unity among Democrats and Republicans has deteriorated into bitter partisan warfare.

I am not a centrist.

We don't need bipartisanship, we need application of principle.

The political system loves the extremes, it doesn't so much show a lot love for the moderates.

The myopic obsession of the Tea Party with destroying health care reform and wounding the president has led Republicans astray.

Well, Judy, I would hope in the new year, we could start thinking about politics not like it was the Super Bowl, where you always have to have one team that wins and the other team has to be a loser.

Folks are really tired of this rabid division between Republicans and Democrats. Folks want people to come together and solve the problems and the challenges of America.

My dad thinks Obama is a socialist and all these extreme views.

In Washington, compromise has become a dirty word.

There are too many political moderates in America.

I wouldn’t be too serious about bipartisanship. It’s a great myth that ought to be fostered. And don’t bring too damn much scholarship to bear on it. You’ll prove it out of existence if you’re not careful.

There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great political parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other.