Joseph Cannon Quotes

What I've found in being around political people is they're willing to negotiate their ideology somewhere around 5 percent. They believe that's really stepping out. And it's really hard to do business when you only move 5 percent from your ideology.

Ultimately, Congressional medicine is like veterinary medicine: It must be strong enough to work, and tasty enough to swallow.

In politics, there is no such thing as getting something for nothing. The payoff may involve compromises of various types that strike at the ideals and principles one has held deal all his life.

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

If we want to influence the discussion in Congress, we can't oppose everything.

The President has to persuade Congress to do what they do not want to do.

We have a constitution that says that the way you get things is by passing legislation, not by threatening to destroy the country unless you get your way.

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.

One of the ways usually that you build a bipartisan agreement is one side gives up a little, and the other side gives up a little.

Sometimes you hear that many politicians vote for a bill in various forms before they vote against it, or vice versa. The conflict, negotiation, and eventual compromise involved in this process form the essence of the democratic process.

You might want a certain type of Brexit deal, but you can't get it if the numbers aren't there.

You can be ideological; you can be passionate about your issues - I'm all for that. And there are some issues I refuse to give in on. But for the state to function, for government to function, there has to be some level of deal-making.

I'll be reaching across the aisle to find opportunities to work with Democrats on the issues that desperately need to be addressed.

You have to buy off interest groups, compromise your ideals, and settle for half loaves...

Politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be.

Compromise is what it's got to be all about when you're governing, because no one is ever going to have a big enough majority to just do what they want to do all the time.

Legislation is the art of compromise.

Consensus is the essence of the legislative process.

That is a good bill. If you can beat it, go on and beat it, but you ought to give me a fair shake.

Compromise is the oil that makes government go.

My motto toward the Congress is communication, conciliation, compromise, and cooperation.

Obama has been deliberative to a fault and an inveterate seeker of the middle ground.

There is never just one way in politics.

Believe it or not, one of the things I try to do around here is try to look for opportunities to work with people across the aisle. I know that's not the common narrative. But the truth is if you want to get anything done, that's an absolute requirement.

What will happen is the bills will start out the way we like them; in order to move them - we'll probably have to make compromises. That's the way the legislative process works when it's functioning.