When Members of Congress Say Responsible, Accurate Things

Yes, it does happen on occasion (and in stark contrast to early October):

“In divided government, you don’t always get what we want. That said, we can still make progress to our goals.”—Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI).

Also, President Obama:  “This agreement doesn’t include everything I’d like — and I know many Republicans feel the same way.  That’s the nature of compromise. But it’s a good sign that Democrats and Republicans in Congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making to get this done.”

FILED UNDER: Congress, US Politics,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. And you should see what the usual suspects are already saying about him.

    “RINO” is the nicest among them, and one of the few fit for reproduction on a family blog.

  2. Todd says:

    @Doug Mataconis: That’s to be expected from the usual suspects.

    The trick is if enough “normal” Republicans are now willing to actually compromise. If so, than the last shutdown may have been worth something.

  3. Bob @ Youngstown says:

    Does Ryan mean …..
    ….you don’t always get what YOU want ?? or
    …we don’t always get what WE want?

  4. Ron Beasley says:

    I’m still not convinced it will pass. It will probably make it through the Senate but in the House their is a lot of resistance from both the right and the left. I’m not sure that even suspending the Hastert rule can save this puppy.

  5. James Pearce says:

    @Ron Beasley:

    I’m still not convinced it will pass.

    If this agreement doesn’t pass…..I think this is a welcome change on tone that will eventually lead to a budget agreement that will pass.

    We are literally two months out from the October shutdown. At that time, no prominent Republican was prepared to tell their constituents “In divided government, you don’t always get what we want.”

    And notice how Ryan has ratcheted down the rhetoric when it comes to expectations. “Complete and total victory” has been replaced with the more attainable position of “making progress to our goals.”

  6. John Peabody says:

    Quiet optimisim.

  7. Rob in CT says:

    Yeah, I’m not exactly doing backflips over here, but the GOP has a majority in the House. I haven’t read up on every detail yet (is every detail available yet?), but generally speaking I am prepared to accept some stuff I don’t like in such a deal. That’s how it works.

  8. grumpy realist says:

    I think behind the scenes the rational members of the GOP are yelling in the ears of the crazies, saying: “you remember what we went through in September? You remember how much support we lost? You really want to go through that again?”

    Plus, I think if the Republicans shoot this puppy this time around public opinion will fall even harder on them like a ton of rectangular heavy squared-off things.

  9. Franklin says:

    @Doug Mataconis: This is a family blog? 🙂

  10. Tillman says:

    @grumpy realist: I thought the nature of “the crazies” was that those arguments didn’t work on them.

  11. ernieyeball says:

    @Franklin: This is a family blog? 🙂

    To quote Steven Hill’s crusty character DA Adam Schiff of Law and Order

    “Charles Manson had a family.”

  12. MarkedMan says:

    It will pass if and only if Boehner let’s it come to a vote knowing that it will be have a minority of Republican votes. In other words, Boehner will have to concede by actions that the Republican House is incapable of moving anything forward i.e. they are incapable of governing on their own.