Political Quotes

“Madam President, first, I would like to wish a very happy and healthy new year to you and to all of our staff and pages who make the Senate run so efficiently every single day and frequently late into the night. The world's most deliberative body has unpredictable hours, which all too often means missing important events with family because we are here going back and forth on the pressing issues of the day. This is why we have a Senate, after all--to give voice to the various viewpoints of Americans from each State and then try to resolve those differences. It isn't always easy since, unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate's unique rules require us to work together across party lines. I know what it is like to work with my Democratic friends. In fact, I was named as one of the most bipartisan Senators of either party in the past 25 years. That is what it takes to get things done here because the rules force us to reach consensus. The Senate was created specifically to prevent a mob rule mentality. James Madison, the father of the Constitution, described the Senate as the ``anchor'' of the Federal Government that would act as a ``necessary fence against fickleness and passion.'' George Washington famously said that the Senate was established to cool legislation passed by the House in the same way that a saucer cools hot tea. Folks, we certainly have seen a lot of hot mess coming over from the House.…”