Political Quotes

“I see the distinguished senior Senator from Tennessee on the floor, and I will make sure he has plenty of time to speak. If not, I will ask unanimous consent for extra time for him. Today we will vote on only 1 of the 16 judicial nominations reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee that have been stalled for no reason from receiving a Senate vote. Regrettably, Senate Republicans are following through on their partisan opposition to the President by seeking to slam the door on qualified, consensus judicial nominees who have bipartisan support. In doing so, they seek to take advantage of the delaying tactics that they have been employing for the last 3\1/2\ years. This is all to the detriment of the American people. I am disappointed that Senate Republicans are choosing politics over the needs of the American people and seek to justify their actions with a warped sense of payback. This is not the time for settling imaginary scores. Their self-interested approach is what contributes to the low opinion the American people have of Congress. What the American people and the overburdened Federal courts need are qualified judges to administer justice. They are not helped by these partisan games. Following the most extended period of historically high vacancy rates in the history of our district courts, nearly 1 in every 11 Federal judgeships remains vacant. This is more than twice the vacancy rate by this date during the first term of President Bush.…”