Political Quotes

“I am happy to answer a question. Mr. McCONNELL. Basically, what I want to do is not ask him a question, but allay his concerns about this being a slippery slope that would lead to the end of the legislative filibuster. We had that vote in 1995, I remind my good friend from Nevada, to get rid of the filibuster, period. It got only 19 votes; all 19 of them were Democrats. Not a single Republican voted to get rid of the legislative filibuster. Interestingly enough, this was the first vote after my party came back to power in the Senate. So, arguably, we would have been the big beneficiaries of getting rid of the filibuster. We had just had a marvelously successful election in 1994. We were in the majority of the House for the first time in 40 years and in the Senate. Somebody on your side of the aisle offered an amendment to get rid of all filibusters. That was the first vote Senator Frist cast after he was sworn into the Senate--to keep the filibuster. So I can reassure my good friend there is no sentiment that I am aware of anywhere in the Senate for getting rid of the filibuster. Secondly, I am not aware of any sentiment about the filibuster being a problem with regard to Cabinet or sub-Cabinet appointments. Third, I am not aware of the filibuster being a problem with regard to district court judges. Senators seem to be--your side has done a good job of confirming district court judges. That is not in dispute. We appreciate that. We think you have done it in a fair manner.…”