Heidi Alexander: “I wish to thank Senator Levin for his leadership, as well as Senator McCain, Senators Schumer, Cardin, Pryor, and…”

“I wish to thank Senator Levin for his leadership, as well as Senator McCain, Senators Schumer, Cardin, Pryor, and Senator Kyl--who has now retired from the Senate--and Senator Barrasso. We are hopeful the leaders will be able to recommend to us a set of changes in our rules and procedures and practices that will help the Senate operate in a fairer and more efficient way. That is what all of us want. It is surprising how many of us want that. We all worked pretty hard to get here. We all understand we are political accidents. The Senator from Maine, the Senator from Arkansas--we all know that. We are very fortunate to be here. While we are here, we would like to contribute something. That gets down to a couple things. Let's make it easy for a committee bill to come to the floor, and let's make it easier for Senators from the various States and from various points of view to have their say. Allow them to offer their amendment and have it voted up or down and to have a final vote. That is all. I often use the analogy of the Grand Ole Opry. A person is lucky to be on the Grand Ole Opry. If you are there, you want to sing. Sometimes being in the Senate has been like being in the Grand Ole Opry and not being able to sing. We have all done the finger-pointing. The Democrats--the majority--say: You Republicans are filibustering. You are blocking things and keeping things from happening. What we are saying is the majority leader has used the gag rule 69 times.…”