Joe Lieberman: “Words have consequences, both in our personal lives and in our public lives. When you take the good-faith dispute we…”

“Words have consequences, both in our personal lives and in our public lives. When you take the good-faith dispute we have had here about this single question of Federal employees' rights to be transferred to the new Department and suggest people in the Senate are putting those concerns ahead of national security by which you are questioning their motives, and even their patriotism, to some extent, it has consequences. It has consequences because we naturally feel we have been treated unfairly. It is unfortunate; it has consequences beyond this bill. It began to have consequences last week on questions related to a resolution that would authorize the President to take military action in Iraq, if necessary. I think what my friend from North Dakota has said is very important to remember here. We have tried and have not always succeeded. But when we come to questions of national security, foreign and defense policy, as we always say, partisanship ends at the Nation's borders. We are in a new world post-September 11, 2001, where national security is within our borders.”