Political Quotes

“Mr. President, while the distinguished Senator from California is on the floor, I will tell her through the Chair that I have had the privilege of serving in this body for 40 years. I have heard thousands of speeches on this floor. I cannot think of any speech by any Member of either party as important as the one the Senator from California just gave. What she is saying is that if we are going to protect the separation of powers and the concept of congressional oversight, then she has taken the right steps to do that. The very first vote I cast in this body was for the Church Committee, which examined the excesses of the CIA and other agencies--everything from assassinations to spying on those who were protesting the war in Vietnam. There was a famous George Tames picture, where then-chairman of the Armed Services Committee John Stennis was berating Senator Frank Church for proposing this committee. He said that he, Senator Stennis, could find out what he wanted to find out but didn't really want to know everything. I was standing behind George Tames when he took that picture in my first caucus. There is pressure on the junior Members--and I was the most junior Member of the Senate at that time--not to vote for the Church Committee. Senator Mike Mansfield said to me--as did Senator Fritz Mondale and others--that the Senate is bigger than any one Senator. We come and go, but the Senate lasts.…”