Political Quotes

“in the course of a congressional career, you are asked to make many votes. Most of them are fairly routine and not long remembered. In the course of my career on Capitol Hill, those votes that have kept me up at night, those I remember years after they are cast relate to one issue--the issue of war. When you have cast that vote, if the decision to go forward has been made, people will die--not just the enemy but brave Americans and usually innocent civilians. So I remember very well that night in October 2002, when we were called to this floor of the Senate to vote on the issue of authorizing the President to go to war in Iraq. I say to the Senator from West Virginia, I will never forget that moment. There were 23 of us--22 on this side of the aisle and 1 on the other side--who stood up and voted no. If the Senator recalls, that vote ended late at night, near midnight. I stayed on the floor because I knew I would not be able to sleep when I got home. There were two Senators who were here waiting with the same feelings of emotion. One of them was our late colleague, Senator Paul Wellstone. Senator Wellstone was going back home to Minnesota to face reelection. I remember saying to him, ``Paul, I hope this doesn't cost you the election.'' Do you know what he said to me? He said, ``It doesn't matter, this is what I believe. This is who I am.'' That was the last conversation I ever had with Paul Wellstone. He died in a plane crash a few days later.…”