Bill Bennett: “I certify my support for these Members of the Senate because, as I sit here and listen to them, I realize that unlike…”

“I certify my support for these Members of the Senate because, as I sit here and listen to them, I realize that unlike some of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, indeed, unlike myself on occasion, they have approached this problem with a desire to legislate the solution rather than craft a political position. And I think that is in the highest tradition of this body. I am proud to be associated with them, and I am proud of them. There are those who have tried to craft a political position out of the budget on both sides of the extreme. And there are those, frankly, who have tried to craft a political position in the middle and posture as the reasonable ones in the middle. The problem with those who have tried that is that they have never reached across the partisan aisle and tried to bring in people who really disagree with them in an effort to legislate. My father used to say, "We legislate at the highest level at which we can obtain a majority." I find that to be a good summary of the process around here. I congratulate, again, these Senators for their effort to try to obtain a majority and try to legislate the problem.”