John Myers Quotes

Divisiveness is the only thing that sells today. Comity dies not sell. Civility does not sell.

We've become so polarized we've become paralyzed.

When the Tea Party comes to town, compromise goes out the door.

In Washington, compromise has become a dirty word.

I've never seen Washington as divided as we are right now.

Members of Congress don’t speak to their colleagues any more. They talk to the national audience.

Reaching consensus has gotten harder. Today, a minority if the minority plays hostage politics. It’s all or nothing politics at its worst.

I'm very concerned about the tone of politics in recent years. We've seen a decline in civility and bipartisanship, and a rapid increase in hostility between those who have differing opinions. I think this has led to the alienation of the public in governance, which jeopardizes democratic participation.

The problem we've got now in Washington is that the goals are completely the opposite from each other.

We are losing sight of civility in government and politics. Debate and dialogue is taking a back seat to the politics of destruction and anger and control. Dogma has replaced thoughtful discussion between people of differing views.

Politics has got too personal, too nasty, in Britain, as it has in America.

Incivility is not the disease. It is the symptom. Partisanship is the disease…. When your highest duty is to your party, the public interest becomes subservient.

One of the things that is worrisome about politics is the lack of civility.

The wheels of compromise lose traction as Congress sinks into an ooze of dysfunction.

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

Partisanship has gotten worse and worse.

It is uncomfortable seeing how very divisive politics has become.

Politics is the gizzard of society, full of grit and gravel, and the two political parties are its opposite halves - sometimes split into quarters - which grind on each other. Not only individuals but states have thus a confirmed dyspepsia.

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

In a lifetime of observing and participating in political debate, I have seen a lot of meanness.

Aren't we at the point where the closer we get to chaos, the more concern that there should be about coming to the table and compromising with Democrats? This is not leadership. This is almost like dictatorship.

I mean, the country is deeply divided. There is 35 percent of the people who are Tea Partiers or more in some of those states. So it's probably going to be a difficult year, but there's nothing that I think anyone can do about it.

I think the media loves taking the most absurd clips for a sport that has become congressional politics.

Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.

The press has a tendency to focus on what politicians disagree on.