Political Quotes

“Either tonight or tomorrow the Senate will consider several district court nominees. These nominees will be brought up, considered by the Senate, and in all likelihood confirmed in very short order. As I mentioned several times, this is a procedure the Democrats voted to pursue in November when they voted for the so-called nuclear option. The majority voted to eliminate the filibuster on nominations and to cut the minority, us Republicans, out of the process. While the Senate is debating these district court nominees, it gives me a good opportunity to continue the discussion about how the Senate ought to be functioning in the constitutional way determined by our Constitution writers. There is no debate that the Senate isn't functioning properly, and we have been treated to relentless finger- pointing from the other side regarding who is to blame. Unless we can establish a nonpartisan account of how the Senate ought to function, this debate will amount to nothing more than a kindergarten shouting match. I wish to return to the Federalist Papers, which are the most detailed account, from the time the Constitution was being ratified, about how our institution, this Senate, was intended to operate. Although these Federalist Papers were written over 200 years ago, the principles those papers articulate are timeless, and the problems they highlight are strikingly relevant to this very day.…”