Political Compromise Quotes

The essence of liberalism is negotiation, a cautious half measure, in the hope that the definitive dispute, the decisive bloody battle, can be transformed into a parliamentary debate and permit the decision to be suspended forever in an everlasting discussion.

We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.

Politics has been called the “art of the possible,” and it actually is a realm akin to art insofar as, like art, it occupies a creatively mediating position between spirit and life, the idea and reality.

Make no mistake: I will work with both Democrats and Republicans to cut wasteful spending and reduce our debt in a balanced, responsible way.

Bipartisanship is really tough to achieve when everyone on both sides is left with a bad, bad taste in their mouths.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama believe that the problems that exist in our country can be solved by Washington, D.C. My dad believes that the problems in the country are Washington, D.C.

Party loyalty lowers the greatest of men to the petty level of the masses.

F.D.R. had to deal with Southern segregationists - and outright racists - who held power in Congress, so he had to yield to that power in order to get his New Deal legislation passed.

Unlike Washington, the California legislature has proved that cooperation is both possible and essential to successful policymaking, while stubborn absolutism will have you trailing head lice in popularity polls.

The time has passed in America when this party can be the party of compassion and let the executive branch run foreign policy. It won't work. We have to be the party that can stand toe to toe with George W. Bush on national security, as well as the party of compassion.

I have a mindset that says bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaches out to embrace suffering Syrians, his government seems ready to throw embattled Mexicans under the bus just to appease Mr. Trump.

We saw what happened in Jimmy Carter's administration. President Carter was a good man with the best of intentions. But he came to Washington without a good working relationship with Democratic members of Congress, which played a big part in his administration's problems.

I try not to spend too much time on partisan politics. Life's too short for that. I don't really believe that there have been many human problems solved by politics.

Lyndon Johnson was perhaps the greatest political arm twister in the country’s history.

nations that talk democracy make dirty little secret deals with strategic allies who have no use for democratic values

Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should be an embassy of all countries in the world in East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine.

I'm a moderate. I hang out in the middle. I vote against my party with some regularity and try to compromise. It doesn't appear right now that the Republican Party is welcoming moderates any more.

In politics ... retreat is honorable if dictated by military considerations and shameful if even suggested for ethical reasons.

Political considerations can be taken into account only as long as they do not make demands that are militarily improper or impossible.

The disagreement among American political parties, with only a few exceptions, has been over the practical question of how to secure the agreed objective, while conciliating different interests, rather than over ultimate values or over what interest is paramount.

In terms of politics, I just look at people's policies, and sometimes I agree with something, sometimes I won't.

I think what Americans need and what Mainers need more than anything is government that functions and I think that the filibuster prevents us from functioning and making progress on issues.

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.

The Executive [Abraham Lincoln] is frequently compelled to affix his signature to bills of the highest importance, much of which he regards as wholly at war with the national interests.