Political Quotes

“Mr. President, obviously I am deeply disappointed by the objection being heard here. I really feel compelled to explain one factor of my colleague's comments. We don't want the military involved in politics. We do everything we can to keep them insulated from the internal politics of the Congress, the Senate and the House, and that is exactly what my colleague is doing by this hold. We are responsible to make sure that we support our men and women in harm's way. Having the military academies properly managed is part of our responsibility so that they have the tools they need to defend our Nation. One last point that was mentioned by my colleague about having up-or- down votes on these nominations, that he would not hold that up. Well, he is. He is requiring the break of a filibuster. What he is suggesting is that he is not letting us have an up-or-down vote. That is what my unanimous consent request would have allowed. My unanimous consent request would have allowed us to have an up-or-down vote on the nomination so we don't have to go through a cloture motion, which is exactly what my colleague is suggesting we need to go through, in order to vote on hundreds of these promotions within the military; that if we followed the course he is suggesting, those plebes who are entering this month at the Naval Academy will be in their second year before we get around to voting on that nomination.…”