Jay Inslee: “if absolute power corrupts absolutely, so does oil. And the continued lust, the continued rapacious grab for oil in one…”

“if absolute power corrupts absolutely, so does oil. And the continued lust, the continued rapacious grab for oil in one of our most pristine areas in this country has corrupted this body absolutely. We stand here in the middle of the night tagging on in this scheme, something that could not pass this body tonight in any other way other than through this subterfuge. And yes, those artificers who tried to run this scheme recognize it is difficult to ask Members to vote against any defense bill because all of us, Republican and Democrat, stand for our troops. But I hope we take a little bit of inspiration from our troops. Mr. Cole and I went and visited Baghdad a few weeks ago, who are standing late night sentry duty, and it does get cold in the desert this time of year. Alone, away from the holidays, they are doing a little tough duty. And maybe we can have a few Democrats and Republicans do a little tough duty tonight and call foul and blow the whistle on this corruption of the Armed Services appropriation process on a bipartisan basis. Whatever you think of the Arctic drilling, and for those who think it is such a great thing I will just tell you, I went out to the Washington Mall. I went for a walk tonight. It is a beautiful night. Saw these beautiful monuments. People were out enjoying the Lincoln Monument tonight, even in the cold. And they feel the same way about the Lincoln Monument as they do about the wildlife, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.…”