Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this afternoon, the Republican leader of the Senate came to the floor to talk about a vote we will have later this afternoon. It is a vote which is historically important. We all know the state of our economy. We are in a position now with 14 million Americans out of work, 9.1 percent unemployment and private-sector jobs going up so slowly, it isn't getting us back into the kind of economic progress we need. We listen monthly as the unemployment statistics come out, and we are reminded of the weakness of our economy. We have to do something. The choices are to allow this economy to languish or decline or to step up and do something. President Obama has decided he needs to lead on this issue and bring together Democrats and Republicans for that purpose. He spoke to a joint session of Congress which we all attended. It was widely reported. He said: I am going to put my best ideas on the table, and I invite the Republicans to do the same. We cannot stand idly by and do nothing. So the President put his proposal forward. It was clear what he wanted to do, and he reminded the Republicans that many of the things he proposed were actually ideas they had proposed in the past. Then we waited and we waited. At the end of the day, I am afraid when this vote is taken, we will find few, if any, Republican Senators will support any effort to try to create jobs in the United States, as President Obama has proposed. The President has made his position clear.…”