Quotes About Consensus

Disunity costs votes.

I don't expect people to agree with all my votes.

We don't go to war on narrow, partisan votes.

In the Senate, where 60 votes are required to do anything important, you have to work with your colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

The role of the speaker of the House is to deliver enough votes by understanding and accommodating the individual bottom lines of enough members to pass the bill.

I have learned how to take votes where I had to hold my nose because I had to compromise - something that you learn to do, especially when you have been in the minority.

Alliance is not to show individual strength, but win over the opposition by pooling in all the votes of like-minded parties and ensuring that they are not scattered.

Unanimous votes are rare in parliament.

Just because a group does not take its decisions by voting does not mean they have no understanding of the essence of democracy.

Quite a few people have to believe something is normal before it becomes normal - a sort of 'voting' situation. But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is.

Science doesn't work by voting. Did people vote on the theory of relativity? No! It's either right or it's wrong. Do we vote on whether genetics is a good theory or not? Of course not.

Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everyone in good society holds exactly the same opinion.

Conservatives and liberals alike have been waiting for this moment for a third of a century.

And the inner dynamics of Hollywood are like politics. Say you give a script to a group of executives - they all sit around, afraid to voice an opinion, saying nothing, waiting to know what the consensus is. Just like focus groups, opinion polls or a cabinet.

I believe in working in a bipartisan manner.

When you have... bipartisan support, it shouldn't devolve into a bipartisan fight.

I'm a strong believer in bipartisanship.

The system requires bipartisanship.

I'm a believer in bipartisanship.

People like you as long as you agree with them. But that doesn't bother me.

The people decide who's No. 1, the best in boxing.

If people don't want a bullet train, then it will not happen.

The business community is very comfortable with Romney.

Among the responsibilities of each citizen in a participatory democracy is keeping ourselves sufficiently informed so that we can participate effectively, argue our positions honorably, and hopefully, forge sufficient consensus to understand each other and then to govern.