When Mike Crapo assumes the top Republican spot on the Senate Banking Committee next year, he’ll face a tall order: cutting deals with Democrats over housing and financial regulation that have eluded the panel in recent years. But Crapo, a third-term senator from Idaho, said he believes the panel is on the verge of a more cooperative era and that there is more to agree on than meets the eye. “We will try to build common consensus-based solutions between the members of the committee,” he told POLITICO. Crapo said he won’t shy away from working with Democrats on the politically thorny issue of how to overhaul mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were taken over by the government in 2008 at great expense to taxpayers/Patrick Reis, Politico. More here. (AP file photo of U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, center, during news conference)

Question: Is compromise an ugly word to you?

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