Political Quotes

“Madam President, finally, I want to say a little bit about last week. There are those on the other side of the aisle now shedding crocodile tears that, last week, the minority asserted its right not to proceed to a bill that has zero legislative text. Imagine--imagine--they said, the nerve of the Democrats not voting for a bill when there is no text. How crazy can they be? We asserted our rights very simply to continue the legislative process to allow time to reach agreement. The majority, in an act of political stubbornness but also stupidity, asked people to vote on a bill they had never seen. They tried to force a vote before Senators even had text to know what they were voting on. And then they get upset that we all voted no? They shouldn't be surprised--least of all, my good friend the Republican leader, who said in his first speech as majority leader: ``One of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate.'' Well, in the Senate, we have always had the text of the bill before we vote on it. I say that to my friend the majority leader. Democrats were perfectly, perfectly appropriate, fair, and correct in asserting our rights. If this Senate is to work, the majority must allow it to work. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii. ____________________”