Political Quotes

“I would answer: Yes, indeed, her record, taken together with her committee testimony, tells us a lot about Ms. Kagan's insight and feelings about the second amendment. Let me agree with my colleague from Connecticut, however, and say I don't believe it is necessary for someone to have judicial experience to be an effective member of the Supreme Court. Clearly that is not called for in the Constitution. However, in a situation such as this, where the nominee has never written a judicial opinion of her own, where she has hardly any experience at all in the courtroom, I do think it is appropriate--and actually necessary--for us to examine her life experience and see what insights we can gain on her views on the second amendment. I would also say this: The debate is drawing to a close. The issue is probably not in doubt, but I think we owe it to the Record, we owe it to our constituents, we owe it to the American people to outline our concerns with regard to the second amendment to the Constitution, to the second article in the Bill of Rights.”