Dick Durbin Quotes

While I have worked hard to bring folks to the middle to craft common-sense solutions to the many problems that confront our nation, Washington is mired in gridlock, gamesmanship and constant partisan bickering.

We need new energy back in Washington.

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

I think too many of the politicians in Washington have forgotten simple ideals like solving problems and helping neighbors. The Washington game is more about scoring points or sticking it to the other guy.

One of the tragedies of the Bush administration is that we went back to business as usual, make a deal with the Democrats, let's all be friends in Washington philosophy.

If Mr. Obama wants to get things done, he must recognize that in Washington only the president has the power to make the first big move.

My message to Washington is very simple. Face reality. Be leaders. Demonstrate accountability. Engage in principle compromise. And understand your job is to find solutions.

When the going gets tough in Washington, presidents appoint 'blue ribbon' commissions.

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 didn't come to Washington to be part of the problem.

I just want to work with legislative council members from across the political spectrum to get things done.

The people we send to Washington have to roll up their sleeves, stop the fighting, and work together on issues that are not political, not partisan, but personal to families across our state and our nation.

The only bipartisan place in D.C. is Brooks Brothers.

Hardworking families can no longer afford to wait for a Congress that gridlocks on ideology. I look forward to working with my colleagues from both parties to get things done.

What the 1990s taught the Clinton veterans was that you could 'triangulate' with a GOP-controlled Congress.

People have no confidence that Washington, both sides of aisle, are coming together to try and do what's right for the economy.

I think what people are looking for right now is not the kind of pizzazz and pop that perhaps we thought we got in 2008. Certainly, President Obama offered that. What they want now is someone who can work closely with Congress and get things done.

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.

While one party may possess the levers of power, one party does not possess a monopoly on good ideas. Good lawmaking, after all, is about the ability to craft effective solutions.

While we face economic obstacles that challenge every decision made in Washington, decisions made merely for political gain must stop. It's time to restore civility in Congress. It's time for action where action is needed - all politics aside.

I have an ability to work collegially across a wide range of interests in the caucus and in the Congress, and an ability to work on a bipartisan basis. Appropriators pride themselves on that.

We shouldn't deny the right of the minority to filibuster, but we need to do a much better job of making them own it. That way, the American people could figure out who is being obstructionist and who is willing to compromise.

I know we can fix our problems. When there are people in the room who care more about doing the job they were elected to do than they worry about winning reelection, it is possible to work together, achieve principal compromise, and get results for the people who give us these jobs in the first place.

Too often in Washington special interests urge us to fight one another just because we belong to different parties. It is time for this to stop and for Washington to focus on what needs to be done.

One of the things I give Nancy Pelosi a lot of credit for is that she's able to get things passed and hold her members together because she shows us that she's doing everything possible to get our views into these bills.