--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the big changes in the Congress…" description: "\"One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came to Washington is that all of these folks go home every weekend. They used to play golf togeth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/robert-m-gates-2972_adversaries_one-of-the-big-changes-in-the-congress-s_342608.png" --- # One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came… ![“One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came to Washington is that all of these folks go home every weekend. They used to play golf together; their families got to know each other, go to dinner at each other's homes at weekends - and these would be people who were political adversaries.” quote by Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/robert-m-gates-2972_adversaries_one-of-the-big-changes-in-the-congress-s_342608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/robert-m-gates-2972_adversaries_one-of-the-big-changes-in-the-congress-s_342608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/robert-m-gates-2972_adversaries_one-of-the-big-changes-in-the-congress-s_342608.png) > “One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came to Washington is that all of these folks go home every weekend. They used to play golf together; their families got to know each other, go to dinner at each other's homes at weekends - and these would be people who were political adversaries.” [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Congressional culture shifted as members now prioritize family time over informal socializing, reducing personal bonds across party lines. **In simple terms:** Lawmakers now spend weekends at home, less socializing with opponents. Key Takeaway Encourage informal interactions to rebuild trust. Themes politics social bonds work‑life balance Mood reflective concerned Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - legislative negotiations - team building - community events - policy workshops Key Concepts bipartisanship networking institutional culture Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster bipartisan relationships outside work? - What informal settings best promote dialogue? A Different Perspective Reduced social contact may increase polarization; informal ties are not a cure‑all. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) [Big changes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-changes/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Changes Congress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changes-congress-3180997/) [Congress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress/) [Congress Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress-came-2649525/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Weekend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-weekend-387935/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-golf/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Washington Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-folks-3180998/) [Weekend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weekend/) [Weekends People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weekends-people-3180999/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Everywhere I go - from Main Street to Wall Street - people ask, 'What's happened to our political system? Why can't Washington folks work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/everywhere-i-go-from-main-street-to-wall-street-people-ask-what-s/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [I'm always keeping an eye on the court. Also, when the members of Congress came to his office during the budget debacle of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-m-always-keeping-an-eye-on-the-court-also-when-the-members-of/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [When I came to Congress, I came to bring what I thought was a real-world business perspective to government because, in the business world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bean/when-i-came-to-congress-i-came-to-bring-what-i-thought-was-a-real/) [Melissa Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bean/) > [Buy her flowers? Take her home on the weekend to meet your mother? No. Let's cut to the primal, be good in the sack.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/buy-her-flowers-take-her-home-on-the-weekend-to-meet-your-mother-no/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [When I am home on a weekend, you can bet I am relaxing in sweats!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-virtue/when-i-am-home-on-a-weekend-you-can-bet-i-am-relaxing-in-sweats/) [Tessa Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-virtue/) > [I make it a point to go home every weekend so I can meet with Georgians and hear from them directly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-isakson/i-make-it-a-point-to-go-home-every-weekend-so-i-can-meet-with/) [Johnny Isakson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-isakson/) > [I owe the public a good performance, the best I can give. We really bust our chops on 'CHiPs' but when I go home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilcox/i-owe-the-public-a-good-performance-the-best-i-can-give-we-really/) [Larry Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilcox/) > [I love Irvine. That's my 'hood. I went to USC and used to come home every weekend. It's in my comfort zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-chon/i-love-irvine-that-s-my-hood-i-went-to-usc-and-used-to-come-home/) [Justin Chon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-chon/) > [I come back home almost every weekend, or my wife comes up every other weekend to Vancouver. So, in that sense, we make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-trucco/i-come-back-home-almost-every-weekend-or-my-wife-comes-up-every-other/) [Michael Trucco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-trucco/) > [I come home every weekend and I still can't believe I represent Las Vegas in Congress. It's such a kick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-berkley/i-come-home-every-weekend-and-i-still-can-t-believe-i-represent-las/) [Shelley Berkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-berkley/) > [If I'm at home for the weekend - and that is almost never - I tend to get twitchy at about eight o'clock in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carr/if-i-m-at-home-for-the-weekend-and-that-is-almost-never-i-tend-to-get/) [Jimmy Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carr/) > [Big changes like creating nutritious school food and adjusting the eating habits of children takes an organized effort from an entire community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-rosenthal/big-changes-like-creating-nutritious-school-food-and-adjusting-the/) [Joshua Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-rosenthal/) > [The Iraqi troops and the Iraqi fighters are in control of all the places, as we have witnessed, no big change in that. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-iraqi-troops-and-the-iraqi-fighters-are-in-control-of-all-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I feel everything more deeply. Every action I take, I think of her first. That's a big change for me. That - and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-dewan/i-feel-everything-more-deeply-every-action-i-take-i-think-of-her/) [Jenna Dewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-dewan/) > [As we get more transparent with data sets about infrastructure and systems management, I have a feeling we'll see big changes in how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-koblin/as-we-get-more-transparent-with-data-sets-about-infrastructure-and/) [Aaron Koblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-koblin/) ## More by Robert M. Gates > [And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/and-so-the-greatest-of-american-triumphs-became-a-peculiarly-joyless/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Obama answered, “Yes. I’m no peacenik.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-answered-yes-i-m-no-peacenik/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“I was seething. I told him that “the clock is ticking” and that our patience with their lack of political progress was running out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-was-seething-i-told-him-that-the-clock-is-ticking-and-that-our/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [Some people have said, in so many words, that I'm kind of wooly-headed in believing that the Iranians would see not having nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/some-people-have-said-in-so-many-words-that-i-m-kind-of-wooly-headed/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Obama was the fourth president I had worked for who said outright that he wanted to eliminate all nuclear weapons (Carter, Reagan, and Bush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-was-the-fourth-president-i-had-worked-for-who-said-outright/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I had no concerns - I had no reason to have concerns based on what was available to me about North's contacts with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-had-no-concerns-i-had-no-reason-to-have-concerns-based-on-what-was/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [Health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/health-care-costs-are-eating-the-defense-department-alive/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“The passage of fourteen years had led to another significant change in the international environment. As I told Bush 43 and Condi Rice on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/the-passage-of-fourteen-years-had-led-to-another-significant-change/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-ve-been-very-sensitive-for-a-long-time-to-the-repeated-pattern/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I don't know General Michael Flynn well, but it's hard for me to believe anybody would allow themselves to be blackmailed by the Russians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-don-t-know-general-michael-flynn-well-but-it-s-hard-for-me-to/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [I had no difficulty as Secretary of Defense moving from the Bush administration to the Obama administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-had-no-difficulty-as-secretary-of-defense-moving-from-the-bush/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/the-united-states-has-been-a-global-power-since-late-in-the-19th/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [My one concern is that Hu Jintao may overestimate how much power China has in Pyongyang. They have - they do have influence, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/my-one-concern-is-that-hu-jintao-may-overestimate-how-much-power/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“I thought you were my friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/i-thought-you-were-my-friend/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“Soon after the raid was over, the White House released the now-famous photo of all of us watching the video in that small conference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/soon-after-the-raid-was-over-the-white-house-released-the-now-famous/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) [Explore all 143 Robert M. Gates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) ## More Adversaries quotes > [In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-all-matters-of-opinion-our-adversaries-are-insane/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Inanimate objects are sometimes parties to litigation. A ship has a legal personality, a fiction found useful for maritime purposes. The corporation sole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/inanimate-objects-are-sometimes-parties-to-litigation-a-ship-has-a/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [There were various aspects of Sun Tzu's approach that appealed to Ho Chi Minh: a) to learn to understand both the enemy and yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/there-were-various-aspects-of-sun-tzu-s-approach-that-appealed-to-ho/) [William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-duiker/) > [Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-in-my-view-should-be-a-balanced-stalemate-between-equal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If an adversary didn't target our power plants but they did target the core routers, the backbones that tie our internet connections together, entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-an-adversary-didn-t-target-our-power-plants-but-they-did-target/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [It's like I'm married to the silencer, Until I file for divorce and release my ex-calibers. Do art with your arteries, place that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharoahe-monch/it-s-like-i-m-married-to-the-silencer-until-i-file-for-divorce-and/) [Pharoahe Monch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharoahe-monch/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. 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Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/often-gop-political-strategy-seems-like-the-human-wave-theory-of-the/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Our ability to fall in love requires enough comfort with our masculinity to join it with someone's femininity and feel enhanced. .. . If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/our-ability-to-fall-in-love-requires-enough-comfort-with-our/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-negotiate-in-bad-faith-if-you-do-not-forgive-your-adversary/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [We should seek after spiritual gifts. They can lead us to God. They can shield us from the power of the adversary. They can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/we-should-seek-after-spiritual-gifts-they-can-lead-us-to-god-they-can/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) [Browse all 446 Adversaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the big changes in the Congress since I first came to Washington is that all of these folks go home every weekend. They used to play golf together; their families got to know each other, go to dinner at each other's homes at weekends - and these would be people who were political adversaries.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert M. 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