Political Quotes

“I recall that somehow the Republic survived and the Nation did well, we kept our armies in the field and built our highways and passed our bills, and we did that for a long period of time without requiring 60 votes on every amendment. Then there came this age of the filibuster, where the Republican minority last year had 62 filibusters, breaking a record in the Senate. Well, to stop the filibuster, you need 60 votes. So now I assume what the Senator is suggesting is that we are in a new age in the Senate, and it is going to take 60 votes for everything. If that is the proposal, I suggest a rules change. Let's get on with it and find out if there are enough votes here to make that the rule. If it is going to be the age of filibusters again this year, the public won't like it much. We were in the minority not that long ago. But if that is your goal, if you want to make this a 60-vote requirement, it is a different Senate, and it will be, unfortunately, adding to the frustration many people have when they look at Washington and say: Why don't you pass something, or why don't you do something about health care or about other issues? We will have to tell them we don't have 60 votes.”