Tuesday, September 06, 2011

“We’ve gone from Brigadoon to Lord of the Flies,”

That's one quote from Jim Cooper, a Democratic Congressman from Tennessee. Cooper blames Gingrich for starting the excessive partisanship that now defines our Congress. Here are some more quotes from this article by Joe Nocera in the NY Times. 

"Tip saw his role as speaker of the whole House, not just the Democrats.”

“We no longer search for the best ideas or the best policies. There was only one health care bill offered. One Dodd-Frank. Now you are either an ally or a traitor.”  

“This is not a collegial body anymore. It is more like gang behavior. Members walk into the chamber full of hatred. They believe the worst lies about the other side. Two senators stopped by my office just a few hours ago. Why? They had a plot to nail somebody on the other side. That’s what Congress has come to.”

“Money changes hands here way too much. Members buy their way onto committees. When I first came to Congress, the party was supposed to help you. Now, when a new member is sworn in, he or she is told what their dues are — how much they are expected to raise for the party for the next election. It’s worse in the Senate. It turns the whole place into a money machine.” 

“We survived McCarthy. We’ll survive this.”

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