From Bill Frist's resignation speech that he delivered on the floor of the Senate yesterday:
"...we are moving toward a body that has too much of a two-year vision, governing for that next election, rather than a body with a 20-year vision, governing for the future. As we consider the future of the institution, I urge that we ask ourselves what it is that our forefathers envisioned. Is today’s reality what they foresaw?
I urge that we consider our work in this chamber. What is it really all about? Is it about keeping the majority? Is it about red states versus blue? Is it about lobbing attacks, in some way, across the aisle, back and forth? Is it about war rooms, whose purpose is not to contrast ideas but to destroy? Or is it more?
[…]
I think we need to remember this vision of the Senate: that the framers established the Senate to protect people from their rulers and as a check on the House and on the passions of the electorate. And let us not allow these passions of the electorate be reflected as destructive partisanship on this floor."
Predictably, in the wake of these remarks, Frist is being slammed from all sides for his extremely partisan track record. Fair enough. But that's the way modern politics operates, on both sides of the aisle. I think it's telling that many of the players indict the crushing partisanship of Washington on their way out the door. Just because they played the game doesn't mean they think it's the right way for government to work.