Pete Domenici: “This is a rather unique institution--unique in the very best sense of the word. You really have to be part of it for a…”

“This is a rather unique institution--unique in the very best sense of the word. You really have to be part of it for a while. You can't just read a history book. Many political scientists have written about it, but none have really captured what it is. What you say about trust and comity is very right. There is no doubt about it. When people ask you how it runs, you say by rules. But by unanimous consent, a lot of the time, Senators can agree. A lot of times they are not here when agreements are entered into. Leadership does that. That is just one example. Everybody trusts them. They trust us who are doing it. We put together a unanimous consent, or my good friend, the ranking member, did, and it sounds right to both sides. Everybody thinks we are not going to cut them out or improperly agree to something. But we run that way. Unanimous consent is an interesting word. It means a lot of comity, a lot of trustworthiness between individual Members.”