Political Quotes

“Madam President, just a few words on what has been happening here recently. Certainly, there is an emergency. Our economy is suffering. There is not a State that is not hurting. Some States are hurting worse than others. This is a filibuster, and we are in the middle of a very important piece of legislation. I do not think it would be appropriate to take 10 days--is what it would take, a week or 10 days--to try to get a 30-day extension when we have all these other things that are waiting to be done that relate directly to this. It just is not appropriate. What is a filibuster? If you look in the dictionary, Madam President--this was handed to me by the distinguished Senator from Michigan, Ms. Stabenow--if you look in the Oxford English Dictionary, a filibuster is a ``freebooter. One of a class of piratical adventurers who pillaged the Spanish colonies in the West Indies during the 17th century.'' A freebooter is ``one who engages in unauthorized and irregular warfare against foreign states. A pirate craft.'' In the United States: ``To obstruct progress in a legislative assembly; to practice obstruction.'' That is what this is all about--to practice obstruction. We are not preventing a vote. We are not preventing a vote. We want a vote to take place. My friend from Kentucky has raised an issue. He thinks it should be paid for. I believe it is an emergency, as it always has been when people are out of work for long periods of time. It is an emergency.…”