Time picks Corker as one of world's 100 most influential

Senator Bob Corker

WASHINGTON — Time magazine has named U.S. Sen. Bob Corker as one of its 100 most influential people in the world.

“I am grateful that Tennesseans have given me the tremendous privilege of serving them in the United States Senate, and I am deeply humbled by this honor,” said Corker, a Chattanooga Republican who serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“I wake up every day trying to find ways to move our country ahead,” Corker said, “and for as long as Tennesseans afford me this opportunity, I will remain focused on solving the big domestic and foreign policy issues facing our nation.” (link)

Our View: Corker shows leadership on world stage  

Daily News Journal - Tennessee through its history has taken pride in leaders from the state who have moved from sometimes rustic settings to national and world stages. ...

Corker also this week won a victory in building a bipartisan consensus to support a bill that would give Congress an opportunity to review the deal between the United States and Iran on limiting Iran's nuclear program, specifically barring the development of a nuclear bomb by Iran.

While that bill is not yet through Congress, President Barack Obama already has agreed not to veto the bill, if it should win full approval. ....

In an era of congressional gridlock, Corker brings a refreshing level of pragmatism in his leadership of the Foreign Relations Committee.

While the notion of pragmatism may be damning praise for those who see everything in stark ideological terms, we think Corker is exhibiting the common sense that now seems sorely lacking in Congress – on both sides of the aisle.

My Comment: I think the praise being heaped on Bob Corker is well deserved.We need more   statesmen in Congress like Bob Corker. We need more people who can get things done.

In my view, the well of good will and compromise was poisoned when Democrats pushed though Obamacare without allowing a single Republican amendment to be considered, and before the bill had even been read, on a strictly partisan vote without the support of a single Republican and used bribery such as the Corn husker kickback and the Louisiana purchase to even get sufficient Democrat votes to pass it.  The well of goodwill and compromise and respect for the opposition was further poisoned by a president who pushed the limit on ruling by fiat, by administratively making over 30 changes to the health care law after it was passed and by declaring he would not enforce immigration law and other unilateral actions more characteristic of a monarch than a president.

Despite the actions that led to the current climate of ill will, we still need pragmatism and compromise, and civility and respect toward those with whom we may disagree.  An all-or-nothing, scorched-earth, take-no-prisoners position accompanied by bombastic rhetoric and demonizing of everyone who does not agree with you 100% is not conducive to good governance. Persuasion and compromise and listening to the other side is still how things usually get done. That is not how Democrats got Obamacare, but look where that left us.

If we wait until we have the votes to get a 100% of what we want without compromise, nothing may get done. We may wait a long time.  Bob Corker got the Iran deal done by hard negotiations and reasoned persuasion and compromise. A bumper-sticker type denunciation of the opposition may get a Senator face-time on TV and the base may like the red meat, but it rarely produces results.

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