Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Senate, I am learning, is an institution bound by tradition and precedent. One of the time-honored and worthwhile traditions in this body is that new Senators, for at least the first few months of their service, are to be essentially seen and not heard until they deliver their maiden speeches on the Senate floor. This, Madam President, I am doing today. As an aside, and in the same vein of new Senators traditionally not being heard but seen, I may have been well advised for the first few months of my service to avoid the throngs of reporters who congregate outside this Chamber, but it is too late for that. Politicians, after all, can only heed so much advice. For the past 12 years it was my privilege to serve in the House of Representatives, a body that has its own traditions and precedents. At its core the House is governed by the concept of majority rule--one party can have a majority of only one or two and, by virtue of the rules, can still maintain control of that body. During my time in the House, I had the experience of being both in the majority and in the minority. All things equal, I have preferred the former, but I understood the power wielded by being in the majority is fleeting. That is as it should be. The Senate, on the other hand, is a body governed by consensus. The party holding the gavel is on a short leash.…”