In a letter to his constituents Representative Sidney R. Yates once remarked that, while partisanship can occasionally be beneficial, it usually takes a more insidious form. Yates related a story about Thaddeus Stevens, who once rushed in to the House of Representatives and asked a colleague which of two men he should vote for. "Take your pick," the colleague replied, "they are both miserable scoundrels." "I know, but which is our miserable scoundrel?" Stevens cried. "I want to vote for him!"
Sources
Herbert Prochnow, Complete Toastmaster, p. 41
