Political Quotes

“I say we need more people like the Presiding Officer. He has joined with us in many bipartisan matters. I hope the conversation we have had today does not in any way reflect upon the Senator from Oregon, who has worked with us on a number of issues. I am sure it has caused him a problem on the other side of the aisle. The reason I mention that is everyone thinks McCain-Feingold is a bipartisan bill, and it is, in the sense that John McCain has stepped way forward on this to talk about the need for campaign finance reform. But the people willing to help him on the other side of the aisle, the majority of them, are few and far between. On a number of issues we have talked about today, with rare exception, the Senator from Oregon has been willing to join in a bipartisan fashion to pass legislation. As my friend from Illinois has said, it is possible we could do this. All we have to do is what is right for the American people and get rid of these very high-pressure lobbying efforts--for example, the health insurance industry, which is preventing us from moving forward on something like a Patients' Bill of Rights.”