Political Quotes

“Mr. President, on Tuesday, the Washington Post published an important piece of investigative journalism. The journalists looked into a very narrow, very wealthy group of special interests seeking to control our Federal judiciary. It was a revealing story, one that matters a great deal to the Senate and to the people we serve. I come to the floor today to discuss that tightening special interest grip on our courts. The central operative in this court-fixing scheme is Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, the organization at the center of this effort. As I described here on the Senate floor several weeks ago, there are three incarnations of the Federalist Society. The first is a debating society for conservatives at law schools. They convene panels and forums for like-minded, aspiring lawyers to talk about conservative ideas and judicial doctrine. That is all fine. The second is a flashy Washington, DC, think tank. They attract big- name lawyers, scholars, and politicians--even Supreme Court Justices-- to their events. They publish and podcast. They hold black tie galas. I don't agree with the work they do, but I don't question their right to do it. The third Federalist Society is what was exposed in the Post article. It is something much, much darker, both in its funding and in its function. It is a vehicle for powerful interests seeking to ``reorder'' the judiciary under their control so as to benefit their corporate rightwing purposes.…”