Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I would like to take a couple of minutes this morning to talk about something that not only affects the legislation currently on the floor but everything we are currently working on in the Senate. Before coming to the Senate a little over a year ago, I spent my life in the real world--the world of business, of local government, of public schools and, most importantly of all, of family. But since coming to Washington, I have discovered that many people learn to live in an entirely different world, an echo chamber, shut off from the reality of life in America that defies common sense at every turn and uses anonymous holds to defy the rule of reason. I used to tell my little girls that ``Alice in Wonderland'' was just a fairy tale. But now I am not so sure. If you come from the real world, when you get to Washington, to Wonderland, the logic can seem upside down or inside out or just plain wrong. Here, it turns out that folks attack you when you do not cut backroom deals at the taxpayers' expense. Here, a lot of people seem to think that saying they are for doing something, such as extending unemployment benefits or passing a jobs bill, is exactly the same thing as actually rolling up their sleeves and getting it done. They think that blaming failure on their opponent is the same thing as fighting for real change. Coloradans and Americans are reading their papers and watching their televisions, and what they see drives them nuts.…”