Political Quotes

“next month, on the first Monday in October, the Supreme Court will begin its new term. The question we have before us as Senators is whether there should be an empty seat on the dais when the Supreme Court convenes. On the first Monday in October, we have always been accustomed to seeing all nine Justices there. For 7 months, the Court has been missing a Justice, and because of that vacancy, it has been repeatedly unable to serve as the final arbiter of the law. There have been eight Justices. There has been a vacancy most of this year. The President fulfilled his constitutional duty in nominating somebody. We have failed to do our constitutional duty of advice and consent. The uncertainty in the law has been harmful to businesses, law enforcement, and to families and children across the country. It is a constitutional crisis. Worst of all, this constitutional crisis is wholly of the Senate Republicans' making, and they have the power to stop this constitutional crisis. In February, the Republican leader claimed, because it was an election year, the Senate would somehow be justified in not doing its job in denying any consideration of the next Supreme Court nominee. Based on my conversations with Vermonters across the political spectrum and in every poll taken on this issue, the American people reject this partisan justification.…”