Political Quotes

“I am one who signed that letter. First, let's talk about the letter itself. What it says is, ``We are united in our determination to preserve the ability of Members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor.'' I agree with that. The proposal that is going to be put on the floor today is one that will allow extended debate. There are two points that have caused me to modify the position that I took on this letter. One is the nature of the issue that is before the body. If we were here talking about immigration or gun control or any of the other many issues that we consider, I wouldn't be taking the position that I am. I believe that the rules of the Senate are important and that extended debate is an important part of the Senate process. However, we are talking about fundamental structural changes--not policy changes but structural changes--that I believe, in spite of your comments, that in many States across the country are compromising the ability of our people to express themselves in our democracy. I consider that qualitatively different than a policy difference, and that is why I am here today to talk about revising the rules--not blowing up the filibuster but to get back to what the filibuster actually means, and that is extended debate. I am all for extended debate until we are exhausted, until we have made a deal, until we have come to a compromise.…”