Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President. Let's not forget what this is all about. Mr. President, 168 of President Bush's nominees have been approved by the Senate; 4 have not--168 to 4. That is the score. This President has 98 percent of his nominees approved. We have now consumed 36 hours of the time of the Senate railing about the four who were held back. Those on the other side of the aisle believe the advise and consent clause of the Constitution is meaningless. They believe their President, their Republican President, should have every nominee, every judge. They really argue with the premise that these judges should be asked hard questions. They do not believe that a judge seeking a lifetime appointment to the bench should be asked, What do you believe? What values will motivate you if you were in a position of power, a position to decide cases and basically the position to decide the outcome of people's lives? They do not believe in that. Frankly, they are arguing that this Constitution, that they have sworn to uphold, which provides for the advice and consent of the Senate before a Presidential nominee is appointed to the bench, should be tossed out. Those of us on the Democratic side disagree. I think, frankly, in their heart of hearts a lot of the more moderate Republicans disagree. They understand that no President gets everything he wants 100 percent. No President should, Democrat or Republican. But they are loyalist, and their partisan loyalty is showing.”