Political Quotes

“I listened closely to the speech by the Republican Senate leader, and I have heard statements made over the weekend on television. I think this is a moment where we might consider for just a minute or two a lesson on Senate 101 so there is an understanding of where we are and why we are at this place. There are 100 Members of the Senate. Currently, there are 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Under the ordinary course of business, which has become extraordinary in this Chamber, a majority rules, so 51 votes will pass an amendment or a bill in most cases. However, there is a creature in the Senate known as a filibuster, and the filibuster requires that 60 votes be found in order to prevail on a motion or a measure. The filibuster raises the requirement from a simple majority to 60 votes. The Senator from Kentucky knows that as well as I do, he has been here longer than I have, that filibuster makes all the difference in the world. So to argue ``The Democrats have the majority; why don't they just take this majority and do their business?'' is to ignore the obvious. What the Republicans have decided to do is, for the first time perhaps ever--I don't want to say that without checking the record for sure--but certainly in modern history, to require that when we pass the debt ceiling, we need to have 60 votes on the floor of the Senate.…”