Political Quotes

“I have often likened the counsel that Senators receive from their staff to the confidential advice a lawyer provides to a client. That is why it is so rare that, over the last 40 or so years, Ross Baker, a Distinguished professor at Rutgers University, has taken several sabbaticals to research the inner workings of Capitol Hill. Most recently, as a scholar in residence in Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's office, Professor Baker has been given the unusual access to the inner workings of one of the Senate's leading offices. The result? Professor Baker is considered the go-to academic expert on the Senate, one of the preeminent scholars of congressional history, the author of six books about Congress and government, and an insightful resource for the news media about the often inscrutable goings-on in Congress. I came to know Professor Baker when he joined my staff as an adviser in 2000, when he returned to Capitol Hill to gain a better understanding of Senate seniority. When he returned to my staff in 2004, during a period of fierce debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee over the direction of our courts and our national security policy, Professor Baker saw firsthand how lawmakers, including myself, balance meaningful, large-scale policy debates with the day-to-day responsibility of representing and advocating for our constituents. It goes without saying that my relationship with Professor Baker was a two-way street.…”