Political Quotes

“I appreciate that generosity, and I will not overly indulge. Let me say, we have reached an honorable resolution to this issue which, for those who have been listening to this arcane debate, I will summarize by saying a significant issue will be made prospective in its application and not have retroactive application. Reading the language we have agreed to add to the McCain amendment 3711, which makes a portion of the nexus language prospective, in combination with the definition of 'tax on internet access,' which was agreed to earlier, this amendment should not interfere with litigation between States and internet service providers. With that agreement, that has brought the various parties of interest into concurrence. What I want to say, Mr. President, is the three people who have been particularly active on this issue, who are on the floor now--Senator McCain of Arizona, Senator Dorgan of North Dakota, Senator Wyden of Oregon--are three of the finest people with whom I have had the privilege to serve in public office. If America was going to judge the quality of its public officials, I would be happy to be judged by these three men. As the Senator from Arizona said, we have had some degree of controversy, but that is the nature of the democratic process. If this were a passive and tranquil process where everybody voted 400 to 0, that would be reminiscent of the way in which the Soviet Union used to operate its parliament, not the U.S. Senate.”