Political Quotes

“this week the judicial confirmation process was a bit off track. The 17 threatened cloture motion votes were unnecessary. I am pleased the majority leader determined to not move forward with that plan. The Senate has now returned to its regular order of processing judicial nominations in a careful and deliberate manner--just exactly what we ought to do when we are talking about confirming people to lifetime appointments. This means nominees are called up, debated, and voted upon, just as we have been doing. In fact, we have done that 131 times for President Obama's judicial nominees. Of course, on rare occasions, as within the traditional rules and practices of the Senate, there will be difficulty in moving forward with consent to proceed on just a very few. So I view what happened yesterday not as some deal but as a rejection of a political stunt in favor of returning to regular order, as we are doing today. I have worked with the chairman and members of the Judiciary Committee, as well as my colleagues throughout the Senate, to ensure nominees are treated fairly, and I will continue to do so. In the meantime, I am pleased the Senate has turned to the JOBS bill. It is imperative that the Senate keep its focus on what the people back at the grassroots level think we ought to be working on--jobs, the economy, energy, and other critical issues facing our Nation.…”