Political Quotes

“Finally, Mr. President, since this is the last time I might be able to address this Chamber before the end of the year--let's hope so--I would like to look back at what the Senate has accomplished this year. The long and short of it, though, is that the Senate has not accomplished much to be proud of. Despite winning only a slim majority in the last election--a condition that made this year ripe for cooperation between the parties--the Republicans used their power not to seek consensus or bipartisanship but, rather, to try to jam through a partisan agenda. My friend the majority leader once promised that if he were ever given the majority, he would return the body to regular order. He cautioned against the Senate becoming an ``assembly line for one party's partisan legislative agenda.'' That is what Mitch McConnell said a few years ago. Sadly, that is exactly what the Senate has become under his leadership this year. For a man who professed to love the Senate and relish bipartisanship, this is probably the most partisan Senate that I have served in in all the years I have been here, and we have departed from regular order and the customs of the Senate in ways never seen before. For what end? Well, this Chamber, under Republican leadership, has devoted itself to furthering the interests of the wealthy and powerful, while ignoring or harming the interests of the middle class and working America.…”