Bob McDonnell Quotes
There is no question that the minority party always makes a sport of going after the governor.
McDonnell, Bob. Quoted in "McDonnell dismisses Democratic criticism." The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 15 Jan. 2011.
Originally published as The Cynic’s Word Book
Many Republicans, having been mostly in the minority for decades had come to see their roles in Congress as doing whatever they could to attack and obstruct any Executive Branch initiative or activity. However the extreme Republican conservatives have generally also worked to obstruct centrist and liberal Republicans as well as Democrats.
This is an example of one of the many reasons that it is difficult to eradicate government corruption in some countries. The government leaders, even if they themselves are not corrupt, are suspected by many and lose face and honor when any corruption is uncovered because they either appointed the corrupt officials or tolerated them before. This occurred in American history when President Ulysses S. Grant, who was impeccably honest and upright throughout his two terms had a reputation for corruption and until recently was tarnished by that legacy because a number of his cabinet members were corrupt. Santos has the solution exactly right, but many are reluctant to use it and lose face.
Dana Ruth Schwartz. The Republicans who had control of the House of Representatives were reaching the end of the fiscal year and had not yet passed a budget so the government would have to shut down in a few days. They had a very strong position if they wanted to blackmail the Democratically controlled Senate and the Democratic President. The majority of the Republicans decided that they wanted to use the Blackmail tactic, so they passed a budget that they knew the Senate and the President would reject and then the Republicans could hold out for their ransom demands. However, when the Republicans met to decide on what they should demand they neither could agree in what or the timing of their tactics. They had launched a major attack without having a clear objective, an exit strategy or even an alternate if they did not succeed.
This is a fascinating quotation in that it was true in Hayes’ tenure and at other times in American History, but at other times it was not at all the case. Two notable examples were the administrations of Thomas Jefferson and those of George W. Bush. Voters claim to not like partisanship but in many eras they do not punish the majority for their lack of bipartisanship.
He was responding to criticism that the media was bashing the President.
Robert Francis McDonnell is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 71st Governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. A member of the Republican Party, McDonnell also served on the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association. McDonnell was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserve. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1992 to 2006, and was Attorney General of Virginia from 2006 to 2009.
