Top 35 Evan Bayh Quotes

What we need to do is to come together as a people and solve the problems facing our country. And unfortunately, Washington is just not doing enough of that these days.

Washington is totally out of touch with mainstream America.

As Democrats, we have a patriotic duty and political imperative to lay out our ideas for protecting America.

Hoosiers are very independent.

The only way Democrats can govern in this country is by making common cause with moderates and independents.

As with any difficult challenge that the public and policymakers face, there is no single solution or silver bullet that will serve as the answer to how the United States works to reduce carbon emissions.

Of course, the genesis of a good portion of the gridlock in Congress does not reside in Congress itself. Ultimate reform will require each of us, as voters and Americans, to take a long look in the mirror, because in many ways, our representatives in Washington reflect the people who have sent them there.

The most important area for spending restraint is entitlement reform.

Many good people serve in Congress. They are patriotic, hard-working, and devoted to the public good as they see it, but the institutional and cultural impediments to change frustrate the intentions of these well-meaning people as rarely before.

Between being governor and part of the Senate, one of the things I did was I held a chair at the business school at my alma mater, Indiana University. And I’d go to lecture the graduates, and I loved that, answering their questions. It was real; it was tangible, and it was making a difference every day.

It shouldn’t take a constitutional crisis or an attack on the nation to create honest dialogue in the Senate.

As Indiana’s governor, I balanced eight budgets, never raised taxes, and left the largest surplus in state history. It wasn’t always easy. Cuts had to be made and some initiatives deferred. Occasionally I had to say ‘no.’

Americans have always prized individuality – it is part of our national DNA – but America is a community that draws strength from the sum of our people and has always known that the total of that sum is worth far more than its individual parts.

I care about family issues.

Ultimately, the American people ourselves need to decide we care more about practical solutions and progress than we do about brain-dead ideology and political wrangling.

Every once in a while, an election comes along, and who you are and what you believe gets subsumed in a larger tide. It just happens.

If one of my boys was asking me if they should go into politics, I’d say there’s only one reason to go into public life and that’s to help people.

The United States depends on South Korea and Japan to help promote American values in East Asia.

I’m pleased to offer analysis of public policy and politics to the millions of Americans who get their news from Fox.

My first meeting as a senator, my first day, they were already talking about the next election. Part of that’s the permanent campaign, part of that’s a word I’ve been using more frequently, ‘tribal.’ Our politics has become tribal: It’s us versus them.

We all have things in life we’d do over again.

The amount of U.S. debt held by countries such as China and Japan is at a historic high, with foreign investors holding half of America’s publicly held debt. This dependence raises the specter that other nations will be able to influence our policies in ways antithetical to American interests.

You now have six-year campaigns for the Senate – you never stop running. It’s not uncommon for a member of the Senate to have a fundraising breakfast, a fundraising lunch and a fundraising dinner, and then when the Senate breaks for the week to go home, more fundraisers. And that’s driven by the cost of campaigning.

Those who obstruct the Senate should pay a price in public notoriety and physical exhaustion. That would lead to a significant decline in frivolous filibusters.

Baseball may be our national pastime, but the age-old tradition of taking a swing at Congress is a sport with even deeper historical roots in the American experience. Since the founding of our country, citizens from Ben Franklin to David Letterman have made fun of their elected officials.

People come into public life for different reasons. None of us are ego-challenged, I think, or we probably wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing, so if anyone tells you that they don’t like the sound of the applause and the ego gratification, I don’t think they’re being straight with you.

I believe I would be a very strong general-election candidate.

Filibusters should require 35 senators to… make a commitment to continually debate an issue in reality, not just in theory. The number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster should be reduced to 55 from 60.

Sometimes you have to make tough decisions to hold the line on spending.

I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.

To regain our political footing, we must prove to moderates that Democrats can make tough choices.

Families and businesses are tightening their belts to make ends meet – and Washington should too.

While romanticizing the Senate of yore would be a mistake, it was certainly better in my father’s time.

I intend to continue to fight for the things I think are right for my country.

I’ve never stopped being a Hoosier.