Michael Bennet: “I went back to the office and I saw my senior Senator sitting here at this late hour and I wanted to come down and keep…”

“I went back to the office and I saw my senior Senator sitting here at this late hour and I wanted to come down and keep him company. So I am glad to be here with you tonight, proud to be from the West tonight with two great Senators from Wyoming remembering Malcolm Wallop's service in this body. It was wonderful to hear their remembrances of him. I am glad we were here to share that being from the West. Similar to the Presiding Officer, I spent most of August in our beautiful State--the most beautiful State in the United States, if I do say so myself--in townhall meetings, mostly in red parts of the State, but in red and blue parts of the State. They do not actually think of themselves that way, but that is how Washington would talk about it. In the townhalls, I always start the same way. I say: Ask any question you have. Bring any criticism you have. I tell them I was an urban school superintendent for almost 4 years, it is impossible to hurt my feelings. It was beaten out of me a long time ago. Then we have a conversation. This time, every single meeting started with somebody saying: What is wrong with you guys? Why can't you work this out in Washington, DC? We are struggling in the worst economy we have had since the Great Depression, and what we see are a lot of political games being played back there. That is the version of the conversation I have heard now for 2\1/2\ years in our State.…”