Brian Schatz Quotes

When I was elected governor of my state, I had a legislature 87 percent Democrat. It was not lost on me that to get anything done, I couldn't be attacking them. I had to find ways to reach out to them.

When you have... bipartisan support, it shouldn't devolve into a bipartisan fight.

I think people forget that bipartisanship is really the burden of the victor, not the loser.

If you really want to get something done in Washington, it has to be done in a bi-Partisan way.

When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out, and there's a broad agreement that that's the way forward.

I have long-since said that working... together and accomplishing things in a bipartisan way doesn't mean compromising your values.

The idea that two political parties can't come together to get a mission done is foreign to me - and unacceptable.

I will do my part every day to work with my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to unite us, and not divide us.

I'm a strong believer in bipartisanship.

I believe in working in a bipartisan manner.

I hear from everybody, and they say 'Joe, nowhere but in Washington do they think not working together makes sense.' We're not hired to fight.

We've been sitting at the compromise table for a long time. We're just waiting for that cold chair to be warmed up by the Republican leadership. They still have time to do the right thing and be responsible. They just seem to be moving further and further away from it.

I'm a believer in bipartisanship.

I have also come to understand Congress' need for a bipartisan as well as a partisan capacity.

I never heard the word 'compromise' used. So I'm starting to believe that these terms only come into play to try and force Republicans to do what the Democrats want.

True bipartisanship isn’t talking about it. It’s delivering it.

Important issues do not always split along party lines.

The middle in Congress is gone now. That is where we got most things done.

This is good government. We have divided government. To make divided government work you can’t ask each other to compromise core principles…. We ask each other to find common ground for the common good.

To get Congress working again, I'm dedicated to working with anyone who has an open mind, good ideas, and a willingness to work together.

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.

I may sound naive, since everyone's decided the next two years are going to be all about 2016, but I look at what's happened over the years when there's been divided government. That's when we've done tax reform, that's when we've done entitlement reform - to move this economy forward on these big issues.

When Senator McCain reaches across the aisle to find Democrats to support efforts to make America stronger, he finds plenty of us standing, willing to help him and many other Republican leaders.

It is past time for Democrats and Republicans to join together to create a bipartisan coalition for courage and common sense.

If Republicans and Democrats commit to working together, we can reach a bipartisan, common-sense agreement to reverse Illinois' economic decline and set the stage for a bright economic future.