Tom Davis

US Rep. Tom Davis (R) of Virginia, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, was Wednesday's guest. Here are excerpts from his remarks:

"If we do the same old, same old, and stay on cruise control, we are that plane flying into the mountain. But we also have some authority, having the presidency ... and having the Congress to change some things, to change that dynamic."

"The members who are most likely to lose may not be the guys who are targeted.... [I]t is the guy who has been voting with the party for years and who hasn't paid that much attention to what is going on back home ... and all of a sudden the electorate changes and these are the guys who get surprised."

"There ought to be a procedure, otherwise you could have an executive come in and just raid things willy nilly.... [T]he founders envisioned a separation of powers and I think sometimes we have been too timid about exerting that."

"We all recognize ... that no deal doesn't work - the border remains porous, people keep pouring in, and you make no progress.... I certainly don't think it helps the Republican Congress to come out with no deal. We are perceived as controlling things.... I think this will be a test for voters in terms of: Are the Republicans capable of governing here and putting something together?"