Political Quotes

“We will see, indeed. There have been just a couple of occasions when I have seen the Senate work as I think it should work and casting a lot of votes. That is how it is supposed to function. That is the kind of body we all thought we were joining when we were elected to the Senate--a body that debates, discusses, and most importantly, votes. The legislative process doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot if all that happens is we wait for just a few people to emerge from a back room with a document that no one has read, and people are told to vote up or down on this, and this is the only vote we are going to get on this issue, or this is one of only a small handful of votes we are going to get on this issue. It doesn't mean a whole lot. When it means a whole lot is when we have an opportunity to cast a lot of votes and every Senator is given an opportunity to have an input on a piece of legislation, every Senator is given an opportunity to express his or her mind, and to express the views, the concerns, the needs, of his or her respective constituents from around the country. Remember a few weeks ago when we were discussing the budget resolution, we stayed here all night. We stayed here until about 5:30 in the morning, as I recall, casting vote after vote after vote. It was exhilarating. It was refreshing. It was necessary. I thought: This is how a republic is supposed to operate.”