their dead ends, they still want to be governed from the center. so it is up to the voters. and i call i sounded the clarion call today to try to awaken america s voters as to how bad it is around here, how the supreme court is taking over, destroying the concept of separation of powers, how we are not appropriating money, where the priorities are with nih. how we are not engaging in constructive dialogue with our adversaries. we have earned the title of ugly americans and how the institution of the senate has changed enor ed e d mously and i was very specific in the difference between my arrival here to the world s greatest deliberative body 30 years ago s s ago. it ain t so anymore, ed. no it isn t. anybody that wants to get the detailed text it is all in the
of congress. the tax bill compromise, whether you like it or no the unemployment extension. the repel of don t ask, don t tell. the food safety bill. and on the verge of s.t.a.r.t. and told tonight by senator schumer there will be a vote for the 9/11 responders tomorrow in the senate. what do you make of all of this? well, i think it shows us, ed what a smart strategy it was for the republicans to become the party of no because they decided, you know, the minute president obama was inaugurated that if they could tie him up if they could tie him in knots and prevent him from moving forward and helping the country move forward they can would do well politically and that happened. now that we have seen a little bit of progress, you and i did not like the tax cut compromise but we will leave that aside for the moment, you re seeing this people have more optimism and people think that the president s doing a good job because he is getting the tools, he is getting the votes to take action
progressive senator than that, but he was able to effect, with senator mccain and later on, president bush, pretty conservative guys, a principled compromise on immigration and actually would have put behind us a problem that still silts there. now, my point is this is what i told no labels. it isn t enough to say you are going to try to reach across the aisle. what i look at with disdain in washington, d.c. is once they brought that principled compromise in, nobody would touch it in either party because heaven forbid if it affected your base all the way. and i feel that that lack of accountability, ed, is what most troubles our nation. people aren t willing to lose their job over health care bill. they are not willing to lose their job over doing what s right in a principled, compromised way. the bottom line here is congressman, this country isn t built on people who were political fence riders. this country was built by people
occasionally unbalanced digestive systems. they can become balanced again. align. great digestion through science. it s still not too late to tolet us know what you think. the number to dial is 1-877-edmsnbc. tonight s telephone survey question is do you think the number one priority for the republicans is to defeat president obama in 2012? press the number one for yes, press the number 2 for no. and again, the number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc.
possible but you can t engage in constructive political activity if people are intransigent. why has it gotten like this, senator? it has gotten like this because collegiality and civility has gone. senators of one party go into the states of another senator s party to no it isn t. anybody that wants to get the detailed text it is all in the record. senator, great to have you with us tonight, thanks for serving the country. i think you did the country a favor today. i appreciate it. it s a great privilege. great privilege to be a senator, even yet. thank you. and i think you did more for the discourse than probably anybody has in recent months. i want to congratulate you on that and i appreciate you doing it, from one american to another. well, ed, i made some tough comments but they were accurate. the compromise has become a dirty word. politics is the article of the possible but you can t engage in constructive political activity if people are intransigent. why has