Political Quotes

“I rise today to pay tribute to my colleague Ben Nelson. In fact, when we visited with each other last night, I said to Senator Nelson that I have spent a significant part of my career following jobs he had done. I was the mayor of Lincoln when Ben Nelson was the Governor of Nebraska, I became the Governor of Nebraska as he was completing his two terms, and then I joined him in the U.S. Senate. Before all of that, I worked with Ben as the Secretary of Agriculture. I can say from first-hand experience that Ben Nelson always had the best interests of our State at heart. He was enormously hardworking. In fact, I don't hesitate to admit for a second that when I came to the Governor's office, I found the State to be in excellent shape. He often joked about how he was tighter than three coats of paint, and I think that is absolutely true. He tended to business, balanced the budget, and made sure that money was set aside in the rainy day fund because we in Nebraska know there are going to be days where it might rain. He did a great job as Governor. We worked hand in hand on a number of issues when I was Governor and he was a U.S. Senator. When we became colleagues in the Senate, that working relationship continued. I am very pleased to rise today and say to the people of Nebraska that there was never a time where partisan differences ever impacted or interfered with our ability to work together.…”