Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is important to know what just happened. We closed off the debate, and as far as a filibuster goes, we are having a debate and a vote. What they wanted was a rubberstamp and an easy passage without debate. We are having a bit of a debate, and that is good. Unfortunately, we will not be allowed to amend the bill. My amendment is germane to the bill. It has to do with what article 5 means in the treaty we are signing. What it says is that we will not necessarily take article 5 to mean that we are going to war, that we would do the constitutional duty, and that is to vote about whether we go to war. So the amendment is very clear that we would obey the Constitution. By blocking the vote, we have to realize that those blocking the vote have decided that really it should be automatic, that your sons and daughters will be sent to war automatically without a vote, without a declaration of war. You say: Well, maybe they don't mean that. Maybe they would obey the Constitution. They don't now. So everything in evidence shows us that the chance that in the future they will obey the Constitution is about zero. But so ashamed are they of the fact that we will fight more wars without a declaration, without a vote--they won't allow a vote on the amendment because they would be voting against the Constitution. So, instead, they will block the amendment. That is essentially what this debate is about: Are we automatically obligated to go to war without a vote by Congress?…”