Political Quotes

“The reason the rules of the Senate are set up as they are is to give Senators the ability to protect themselves. However, the motion to proceed has been abused. Everything that we have tried to do, everything--we have had to file cloture on a motion to proceed--is unnecessary. I have stated publicly for the press, everyone who would listen to me, that this is a piece of legislation that we should work on. The Republicans, all Republicans, should understand they lose nothing by moving forward on the motion to proceed. If they find after that that the Democrats are totally unreasonable, then we do not get cloture on the bill. That is the procedure. Why waste all of this time, 30 hours? Why make us go through this process? If cloture is not invoked, who knows if we will ever get back to the bill again. I will try. We will not go off it right away. I told my distinguished Republican colleague that. America is facing a foreclosure crisis, a dramatic economic slowdown. Today the Commerce Department declared such. Yet at a press conference the President held today, he said America is not heading toward a recession. Who agrees with that other than the President? Countless economists disagree with that. The American people know that whatever you call it--a slowdown, a slump, a downturn, or recession--people in every 1 of our 50 States are struggling to make ends meet and looking to us to set things right again. The housing crisis is the eye of the economic storm.”