Patrick Leahy: “again, I make this heartfelt plea. I have made the same plea in private to the Republican leader, the Democratic leader…”

“again, I make this heartfelt plea. I have made the same plea in private to the Republican leader, the Democratic leader, and others. I love the Senate for what it can and should do. I know that, like everybody else my time here is only as long as the voters and my health allow. I also know that someday I will be gone and somebody else from Vermont will fill this seat. I look at the Senate as the conscience of this great Nation. It is a body moving by precedence, moving sometimes by what some would say is an overformalized ritual, but moving in a way that the country can respect and in which the best of the country can be reflected, a body that is built on precedence. A famous Thomas Jefferson story spoke of the Senate as the saucer that allows cooling of passions, the Senate also allows us to step above partisan politics because of our 6-year terms. We have not done that with the judiciary. We have a duty to protect the Senate, but also, because of our unique role in the confirmation process, we have a duty to protect the integrity and independence of the Federal judiciary. We are failing both in our duties as Senators and we are failing in our duty to the Federal court.”