Political Quotes

“I thank the distinguished Senator from Vermont, who is not only a towering physical presence on the floor of the Senate but a towering historic presence on this floor, as well, and brings a rare and valuable perspective. I appreciate his words so much. The sad thing that we face is that despite words like those uttered by Senator John Chafee--``allowing these gases to continue to build in the atmosphere . . . may be committing all of us to severe economic and environmental disruption''--or the words in the letter that John Chafee signed right here and that Senator Leahy's mentor, Bob Stafford, signed right here back on December 23, 1986, no Republican Senator can utter those words today. Today's Republican Party will not even acknowledge that climate change is a serious problem--let alone put forward a serious proposal to tackle it. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's latest trick is to call, for the first time, a climate-related measure on the Senate floor for his side to vote against it. The leader has not brought a single piece of climate legislation to the floor for a vote, ever, until this vote, which he is bringing up for his side to vote against. It actually gets worse. Since the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court decision almost 10 years ago, no Republican in the Senate has offered or sponsored comprehensive climate legislation to limit carbon pollution--none. So we look back with some real sorrow to 1986, when this bipartisan letter was written.…”