Political Quotes

“Mr. President, over the last few days, this Chamber has been discussing the Defense authorization bill, thus fulfilling one of our basic responsibilities as part of the Federal Government; that is, our national security, and in the process making sure our warfighters-- the people who are on the cutting edge of the knife, so to speak, in terms of our national security--have the resources we are morally committed and duty-bound to provide them. So when voting for the Defense authorization bill, we as legislators are fulfilling our responsibilities, just as those who wear the uniform are performing their duties--no more, no less--although I must say ours is a tad safer than they are experiencing, to be sure. With so much at stake for the security of our country, the well-being of our folks in uniform as well as the families of those servicemembers hanging in the balance, as I mentioned yesterday, it is particularly disappointing that the Democratic leader has characterized the discussion of this bill as ``a waste of time.'' I really have to believe he would want to take those words back because it certainly is not a waste of time. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more evident that the threats of the Democratic leader and the President of the United States to stall Republicans' efforts to get this bill passed quickly is just the first step to a larger political strategy.…”