Political Quotes

“Mr. President, folks back home will often come up to me after the Senate has gone through some crisis or complex procedure and they will ask me: What just happened? Usually I can give them an explanation. But I hope nobody asks me about what we have seen last night and today because, to me, it is inexplicable. A Senator holds the floor overnight delaying what turns out to be a 100-to-0 vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to this bill. I am not sure I can explain that back home, so let me try to describe what I expect to see in the days to come. The question before the Senate this week is whether some Members of the Senate will succeed in disrupting much of the Federal Government if they do not get their way in one matter on which they feel passionately. This group of Senators argue that we should take away health insurance from more than 20 million Americans. They urge us to take away cheaper prescription drugs and free preventive care for more than 6 million seniors. They argue for kicking millions of young adults off their parents' health insurance coverage, and they argue for a return to the days when insurance companies could deny Americans health care because of a preexisting condition. Are arguments over the elements of the Affordable Care Act in order? Of course they are. But what should be out of order, what should be off the table is the tactic that opponents of the Affordable Care Act are employing--at least some of those opponents.…”