Political Quotes

“among the great responsibilities and privileges of being a Member of the U.S. Senate is assessing the qualifications and voting on the confirmation of members of the U.S. Supreme Court. Reflecting upon this vote, one gets a sense of the weight of the responsibility--we will be voting on a replacement for only the 17th Chief Justice in the history of our great country. But this vote is not unique because of its infrequency but because of its place in our system of government. The Supreme Court is the final voice in the land on the meaning of the words of the Constitution as they apply to the extent of the rights guaranteed to individuals by the document. It is the final word on the demarcation of power between the legislative and executive branch of government and it is the voice on defining the power reserved for the Federal Government and the governments of the individual States. As a member of the legislative branch of our national government who was in a former life a State Governor, I am acutely aware of the importance of these lines and the consequences when they are breached. As a Member of the Senate, I do not welcome decisions overturning legislative acts that I support but I frequently work with my colleagues to reject efforts to meddle in state affairs. As a Governor attempting to guide my State, I had to labor through the burdens placed in my way by an intrusive Federal Government.…”