Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank Senator Warner. I did want to touch on the concerns of the people of Colorado with respect to the discussion we are having today. I want to start by saying that one of the fundamental roles of the Senate is to advise and consent the President of the United States. We do not even have a chance to advise the President, much less consent, because of the anonymous holds and the slowdown tactics that have been utilized when it comes to all these important nominees. We ought to have a chance to debate on the floor of the Senate, which is the advisory role, and we may find some judges do not pass muster, but they deserve an up-or-down vote on the floor of the greatest deliberative body in the world, the U.S. Senate. That is not happening. I note that some of my colleagues pointed out two cases where Judge Thompson from Rhode Island for months was stalled on the Executive Calendar. There was no reason given. When she was finally brought to the floor, there was a 98-to-0 vote, a unanimous vote. What was the problem? Why couldn't she be confirmed earlier? With Judge Keene from the State of the Senator from Virginia, we had to have a cloture vote to bring her to the floor--4 months. She was approved 99 to 0. There was no objection expressed to her sitting on the circuit court. This is senseless. This is absurd. In Colorado, we have had two vacancies on our district court for many months, going on years now. That bench is undermanned right now.…”