Political Quotes

“this past week, the American people have been exposed to a contentious debate here on the Senate floor about the nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The American people have heard many arguments about the judge's merits and his shortcomings. They have also heard Senators litigate four decades of fierce partisan wrangling over the composition and direction of the Federal judiciary. That debate, that long debate, has informed the current one about Judge Gorsuch. Newer Members may not remember all the details. Friends of mine, like Senator Hatch, probably remember too many of them. Still, the vote on Judge Gorsuch and the decision by the majority leader to move to change the rules has roped in all of that history. Now, how did we get here? The truth is, over the long history of partisan combat over judicial nominations, there is blame on both sides. We believe that the blame should not be shared equally between Republicans and Democrats. We believe the Republican Party has been the far more aggressive party in the escalation of tactics and in the selection of extreme judicial candidates, while Democrats have tended to select judges closer to the middle. Keep this in mind: The last time a Republican-controlled Senate confirmed the Supreme Court nomination of a Democratic President was 1895. Nonetheless, each side comes here today in full confidence that their side is in the right.…”