Thomas Daschle: “I, frankly, question why we are debating and voting on this bill so close to the election. I would have hoped that we…”

“I, frankly, question why we are debating and voting on this bill so close to the election. I would have hoped that we could have depoliticized this issue. But, obviously, it has taken on very major political overtones. Being this close to an election, I think it is probably impossible to keep it from being politicized. But it is a very important question that ultimately has to be resolved. So much of the debate, in my view, was unnecessary. So much of the debate that I have heard on the Senate floor over the last couple of days has dealt with whether or not we can support the procedure that has been so graphically described, with depictions of all kinds, from charts to the language on the Senate floor, whether in some way we can condone that particular practice. Mr. President, I don't know of anybody in this Chamber that condones the practice. I am sure that my colleagues on this side of the aisle, and perhaps some on the other side, have made this point: No one condones the practice. No one stands here to defend the practice. No one, in any way, would want to encourage the practice. And so all of the talk and all of the graphic descriptions, in this Senator's view, are unnecessary, because we all know how abhorrent it is.”