Political Quotes

“what I was saying is the Senator from Arizona asked, What is going on in the Senate? I mean, can anyone imagine--and I am paraphrasing--they offered an amendment to energy on a bill that deals with the Internet tax? My friend from Arizona, who is one of the most astute politicians this country has ever seen, knows what is going on. We are in the Senate. This has been going on for more than 200 years. We have the right to do that. In years past, no one ever considered it anything out of the ordinary. The problem we have in the Senate today is we do not do anything. In the last 4 weeks, we have voted 11 times. Why? Because amendments are offered to important legislation like FSC and there is a desire to have a vote, for example, on overtime. How much time does Senator Harkin want to debate that? He will take 10 minutes and vote on it. We have not been given that privilege. So what is going on in the Senate today is what has gone on for 200 years. The difference is, nothing is ever brought to conclusion because people do not want to vote. The majority has made a decision they do not want to vote, so we do not vote.”