Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the most important words of our Constitution are the first three: ``We the People.'' Those three words, written in big, bold, beautiful script, convey the mission of our Constitution. We are a nation, as Abraham Lincoln opined, ``of the people, by the people, and for the people.'' That was the mission. Our Constitution also lays out how our Founding Fathers intended to be a nation of, by, and for the people to be governed by coequal branches, with the branch carrying the weight of policy development being Congress: the House, and the Senate. The Executive is to have quite a different role in executing the laws. Judiciary has yet another role in weighing whether the laws are in accordance with the parameters of the Constitution--the principles of the Constitution. So there we are, the branch of government--the Senate and the House-- with the power of the purse, with the responsibility for laying out the governing vision and rules for our Nation. Yet, one-quarter of our government goes unfunded for a fourth week. Why is this Chamber not full of Senators? Why are we not debating funding bills? Why is there not a bill before the Senate right now? It is because the rhythm of the floor in this Chamber is guided by the majority leader. The majority leader refuses to put the bill on the floor so we can go about our work, putting the government back in business and ending this shutdown.…”