Political Quotes

“I, too, rise this evening to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court and the need for the Senate to do its job and give fair consideration to any nominee made by President Obama to fill this seat on the Supreme Court. Many of my Republican colleagues have vowed to block any nominee out of hand, and every single Republican member of the Judiciary Committee has likewise vowed to refuse any nominee a fair hearing. The Senate majority leader, along with several other Republican Senators, went as far to say they would not even meet with the nominee. I am not sure I ever heard anything like that in my 9 years in the Senate, going on 10. This is inconsistent, totally inconsistent with our duty as U.S. Senators. Let me start tonight by saying to my Republican colleagues, respectfully: Do your job. Do your job, consider this nominee, and then vote whichever way you want. We know the Supreme Court cannot permanently function as the Constitution intends with only eight members. Last week I asked questions of a panel of experts, constitutional scholars, including Georgetown law professor Peter Edelman at a steering committee hearing in the Senate.…”