Political Quotes

“Collins, Murkowski, and McCain, I think, took a lot of courage. They were getting a lot of pressure from the White House. John McCain was viciously attacked afterwards. But his private conversations with Members and you, Senator Schumer--I know at the last lap around his track of life, he didn't want to be remembered as someone doing something--to use John McCain kind of language--boneheaded; to hurt a lot of innocent, fragile people and leave them without a plan. When his own Republican Governor--I read Republican Governors earlier who were saying, don't do this. I want to say something else to the Senator in response to his question. I watched you that night, and I just loved something you did. I never said this to you. People over here tried to start applauding and you stood up angry and told them not to because what John showed was something bigger than partisanship. He talked about it, one side trying to win; it is more ego sometimes than it is ideals. And you stood up and said, no, this is not that moment. We are watching a man take a position that was not easy. It didn't serve his politics but served his spirit. I don't know if my staff has the envelope of the article I want, specifically because there is a story in there--I don't have it now, I will read it later--about John McCain in the prison camps. I wasn't here when we had this moment. But when I got here weeks after this moment, Mr.…”