Ian Somerhalder Quotes

I'm not a legislator. I've never been a lobbyist. I've never worked a session before, but based on my conversations with leadership in the Senate and the House, I get the general sense that people want to work together to make things happen.

As a young lawyer, I learned to try to find common ground with people, to look for a human connection. When I got to the Senate, despite the fact that there were a lot of people who didn't want me to get there - and were sure they'd never even talk to me, let alone work with me - I really tried to do the job I was sent there to do by the people of New York, which was to get things done for my constituents. I worked with Republicans, and we found a lot of common ground. It isn't easy, but it's part of what we have to do in politics today.

I love politics, but I wouldn't want to be involved in it. Too little money, too much work! I don't really have the personality for that.

In the Senate, where 60 votes are required to do anything important, you have to work with your colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

One consistent thing in an otherwise inconsistent career is that I've always been passionate about parliament.

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.

Growing up, politics never trickled down to the areas we come from. But people from Obama's camp, and Obama himself, reached out to me and asked for my help on the campaign. We've sat and had dinner, and we've spoken on the phone. He's a very sharp guy. Very charming. Very cool.

Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, and Clinton passed legislation because they understood and appreciated the difficult political process. They fought for their principles yet recognized the need for compromise to get anything done.

I think Senator Marco Rubio was a very good speaker of the House, has been a very good senator.

My congressional record speaks for itself, and my ability to build coalitions locally, nationally and across the aisles in Congress is transparent.

I'm intrigued by being in public office.

I'm not into politics. I have received offers to enter politics, but I have not been tempted so far. I can't say about the future.

I wanted to be a senator from Illinois. I was obsessed with politics. My dad was friends with a lot of local politicians, so I would hang out with them on Election Day and hand out buttons. Somehow, even though they were opposite, I loved Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. I thought they were the coolest guys!

All I wanted was to be involved in politics and government.

You have a Republican House, close numbers in the Senate, a Democratic president. If we're going to move forward at all as a country, we're going to have to do it by standing together.

I'm not a politician or political animal.

I've committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics.

Two truths are all too often overshadowed in today's political discourse: Public service is a most honorable pursuit, and so is bipartisanship.

When Kennedy could not get the civil rights bill passed - and he was the big liberal - Lyndon Johnson came in and it got passed, and he was the conservative and the southerner. So sometimes in politics, to get something done, it takes a special kind of knowledge and a special kind of person, but it doesn't always follow the party lines.

Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever.

In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution.

I'm going to reach out to everybody, Democrat, Republican and independent. I'm going to work with all the people in the district, and whether they're an 'R' or a 'D' doesn't matter.

I am proud to be in the Senate. I have always been proud to be a part of our political system. It is a remarkable privilege to participate in this system of ours.

Lyndon Johnson, as majority leader of the United States Senate, he made the Senate work.

I loved being in the Senate. That was a wonderful experience.