Political Quotes

“I have sought recognition to address the subject of televising the Supreme Court of the United States. Legislation is pending on the Senate docket which was voted out of the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 13 to 6, and it is particularly appropriate to consider this issue at a time when we are examining the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. We have seen, in a series of nomination proceedings, the grave difficulties of getting answers from nominees as to their philosophy or ideology, and that is particularly important when the Supreme Court has become an ideological battleground. There is a great deal of lip service to the proposition that the courts interpret the Constitution and interpret legislation as opposed to making law, but the reality is that on the cutting edge of the decisions made by the Supreme Court, the decisions are based on ideology. Therefore, for the Senate to discharge its constitutional duty on advise and consent--on the consent facet, to have an idea of where nominees stand--there is an adjunct to that consideration; that is, to find a way to have the nominees follow the testimony they give. We have found that in notable cases--the most recent of which is Citizens United--two of the Justices made a 180 degree about-face.”