Political Quotes

“I have asked for this session over approximately the next hour and a half because one of our most important roles as Senators is to vote on executive nominations, including judges, lifetime appointees, who serve such a vital role in our constitutional design. Because of the current debate, I have looked to our Founders for some guidance. John Adams, who helped create our Federal judiciary with his independence and its lifetime appointments, gave us a guide. He wrote that judges should be: Men of experience on the laws, of exemplary morals, invincible patience, unruffled calmness, indefatigable application. . . (and) subservient to none. This is a high standard for a nominee and one I believe that Miguel Estrada has met. But it is also a charge for our Senate as the steward of an independent judiciary. Has the Senate met the Adams test or has this unprecedented filibuster and delay brought us all to the point of failing to meet that charge of John Adams?”