Political Quotes

“Mr. President, while we wait for Senator Grassley, who, as Senator Alexander has mentioned, has been relentlessly pursuing this with us for years--again and again, Senator Grassley would come to the floor and make the point that a Senator simply ought to have the guts, just ought to have the guts, to stand and say: Look, this is important to me. I am the individual who ought to be held accountable. Senator Grassley, in that inimitable Midwestern way, always manages to get these issues down to what they are truly all about. It is about accountability and, as Senator Grassley says, it is about guts. I would also mention, what is striking about the secret hold is this astounding power. I think it is only fair to describe it that way. I know of few powers that an elected official has that resemble the ability to anonymously block a bill or a nomination that affects millions of people. It is an astounding power, and for years and years it has never been written down anywhere. As part of the ethics legislation that was passed a few years ago, we were able to get a watered-down version of secret holds reform in there. But literally to think that a power such as this--so sweeping, almost unrivaled in terms of the powers an elected official has--could be exercised in secret is something worth reflecting about in and of itself. I will also tell colleagues that for those who want to get into the history of this, there are all kinds of holds. There was the revolving hold.…”