Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Senate has decided on a purely partisan basis to resolve the impasse of Judge Gorsuch's nomination by invoking the so-called ``nuclear option.'' For the first time in our history, nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States may advance from nomination to confirmation with a simple majority vote in this body. I have heard many of my colleagues ascribe blame equally to both sides, and I have heard analysts and experts say the same. One can question that diagnosis, as some very respected scholars like Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institute have demonstrated that our political polarization over the last several years, and hence our current impasse, has been driven predominantly by the ever more conservative ideology of the Republican Party. Regardless, here we are. The Gorsuch nomination lacks the traditional level of support required for a Supreme Court seat, and the majority leader has chosen a step that Democrats clearly and emphatically rejected when we needed to confirm nominees with broad support but were blocked because they were submitted by President Obama. I had hoped it was not too late for cooler heads to prevail. Unfortunately, adherence to the principle of 60 votes for consideration of a Justice of the Supreme Court and indeed the existing rule in the Senate was ignored, and we are at this impasse.…”