Bob Woodward Quotes
Watching Congress is like being in permanent divorce court
Robert U. Woodward, Journalist, January 3, 2013
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He made this statement before the gridlock of the Stalemate of 2011 when some Republican Tea Party members held the Debt Ceiling limit—which had been almost 100 times been passed routinely under Presidents of both parties—hostage to obtaining a Constitutional amendment and severe budget cuts with no taxes on the super rich.
This could easily have been a description of the 2014 American Congress. Legislative and governing bodies have frequently been paralyzed by hyperpartisanship and ideological polarization.
The Congress at that time was mired down in hyperpartisanship and accomplished very little.
The objective of a large proportion of the Congress then was not to improve the nation or even pass legislation, but to preserve their ideology and attack and weaken the other party. Compromise for example is probably the best legislative practice, but that Congress had a substantial number of Tea Party and other ultra conservatives who believed that any compromise at all was an immoral abandonment of principle.
His Republican Party had filibustered more bills in the Senate then had been done previously in all of the Senate History together. Congress passed fewer bills in his first two years than any other Congress in history.
This was one of the worst Congresses in American History and had the worst productivity record—passing very few bills, and none of any significance. The anti-government, Tea Party hyper-conservative Wing of the Republican Party intimidated the Speaker of the House and they were opposed to any compromise at all on anything.
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist. He started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971 and currently holds the title of associate editor.
