Alan K. Simpson Quotes

Nearly all legislation is the result of compromise.

Strong men know when to compromise.

In general ... I tell people not to bang their heads against the wall and to find a compromise.

Americans tend to go for it all. In international politics you can’t have it all. You have to compromise.

When you are President you have to get something done, and that often means compromise.

A result of accommodation and compromise cannot be supposed perfectly to coincide with any one’s idea of perfection.

Compromise, compromise and compromise.

The Congress is the place where ordinary mortals go about the business of compromise—of compromise that gets us through the day.

Legislation is the art of compromise.

I am a Republican who is prepared to compromise—and contrary to the current misconceptions, compromise is not a capitulation of one’s principles

Politicians are elected to reach compromise. We compromise all the time in our daily lives. Is there something dirty about that?

I don't know how you can govern without ever compromising.

I don't like compromise. In politics, you have to always choose a compromise, and sometimes, that, I don't like.

Solutions must be based on compromises.

We have to find compromises. That's the way it is in Norway.

I will deal with the politicians in a political way and with the nonpoliticians in a nonpolitical way.

As a member of Congress, I'm often reminded that in baseball, as in diplomacy, you have to know when to hit, when to run, and when to show grace.

I hate the fact that people think 'compromise' is a dirty word.

As a newly married person, as much as I would love for my husband to buy into the 'my way or the highway' philosophy, you realize it's all about compromising and finding some sort of middle ground that everyone can live with.

You have to compromise all the way. The only thing that counts is the result.

I am willing ... when I cannot get all I wish, to take what I can get.

All legislation of any consequence is a compromise. You have to recognize that.

The only way to deal with gridlock is compromise. And if we compromise, it means we’ll have a confused policy.

Abraham Lincoln and Everett Dirksen understood with singular clarity that a great and diverse people do not speak with a single voice and that adherence to a rigid ideology leaves little room for compromise and response to change.

Never attempt to buy the favor of your enemies at the expense of your friends.