On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
I rise this evening to continue the dialogue of the conversation about the candidate, the nominee for Attorney General. I rise to join my colleagues in opposition to the nomination. I witnessed earlier tonight something that greatly disappointed me. One of my colleagues, as was mentioned earlier, stood up to read into the Record a letter, as we just saw, that has been a part of the record of this body for decades--to read that letter into the Record. That was then stopped through the Chair because it was said to impugn another sitting Senator. As Chuck Schumer said, that is selective enforcement, but to me there is that going on and a lot more. I used to preside in the first months I was in the U.S. Senate and sat and listened to the speeches of many of my colleagues. I have to say, I am proud to be a Member of the body, where folks on both sides comport themselves with a level of comity that is admirable. I heard some people tonight decry the descending of this body into unfortunate places, but the reality is, my experience has been, on the whole, very positive. The respect and the collegiality here is something that makes this place incredibly valuable to work. Though the public might not see it, there are a lot of bills that get worked on together and even get to the floor, many of them get votes, many of them get passed.…
