Political Quotes

“reserving the right to object I again understand the Senator from Texas in his request, which would create a new 60-vote hurdle where the Senate rules do not require one at the present time. I really try to follow the Senate rules. Sometimes they are obnoxious and I wish they were different, but I try my best, in leading us in this difficult Senate sometimes, to live up to all the rules as they exist. The Senate rules set up a lot of hurdles. That is the way the precedents have been developed over the years, and I understand that. Sometimes Senators like these, sometimes they do not. I would guess that most would say the Senate has enough--enough--60- vote hurdles, that the Senate has enough of these really arbitrary hurdles as it is, that we do not need to add even more barriers to getting things done. We should be careful about adding new barriers. The American people are really fed up. I travel the country, and it is rare that I go someplace where they do not say: What are you going to do to change the rules? They know what the rules are and how difficult they are. I would bet the vast majority of Senators--Democrats and Republicans--would like them changed. The problem is that we have tried that recently. We were able to make a little headway but not a lot. So I think most Americans would rather we work in ways to agree to work together rather than disagree.…”