Legislative Deadlock Quotes

We can't have the government of the United States shut down when a group doesn't like something. This is almost an act of insurrection.

Congress is almost totally dysfunctional right now. All we've done this year and my first year in the Senate ... is barely keep the doors open.

It is with deep regret that the determination to assemble Parliament has been so long delayed.

If you're not comfortable with delay, frustration and impatience, get out of the Senate. It's the nature of the institution, but I think we've taken it to an art form.

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

In our political system it’s easier to block action than to act.

In the absence of a crisis, the status quo in Washington is more or less set in cement, as advocacy groups and turf-conscious government officials are able to thwart change.

We already have a sabbatical system. It's called opposition, and I've had enough of it.

The reality is that the Republican Party may have unified government but is not unified enough on many major signature policy areas.

If Congress can't get a budget passed when they're supposed to, it's just common sense they shouldn't get paid.

That’s one difficulty about a democracy. Nothing ever gets decided—even after its been decided.

I believe we need new leadership to put the partisan gridlock behind us, and I promised my constituents I would vote for new leadership.

Washington has become a place where good ideas come to die.

Often times, political games prevent senators from even beginning to debate some of the most important issues.

There are times where the dysfunction in the Senate just goes too far.

The attitude of the Senate toward public affairs makes all serious negotiations impossible.

As every newspaper reader, liberal activist, or parliamentary junkie knows, the overarching barrier to most of Obama's agenda is the abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. In fact, several of Obama's second term priorities are not ideas in search of a majority - they are majorities in search of an up-or-down vote.

It's counterintuitive, but the most divisive arrangement is when the same party controls both Congress and the presidency, a situation encountered in eight of the past 10 years. With government unified under a single party, the minority has the least possible incentive to cooperate with the majority.

There's no time, place, or purpose of a government shutdown or default.

Congress has lost its capacity to manage itself.

Despite overwhelming and irrefutable evidence to the contrary, President Obama continues to believe that he can negotiate with Republicans.

The only way to deal with gridlock is compromise. And if we compromise, it means we’ll have a confused policy.

There are occasions when obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefits to the country.

I think that what is truly unfortunate is when an entire party makes a decision that they're going to block every single thing that a president wants to accomplish. It's very - it's very hard to get anything done in those circumstances.

If I live my life thinking that something might not pass the Senate, I would never even get up and bother to go to work.