Political Quotes

“I stand here today to give a voice to the thousands of people who have contacted me in recent weeks urging me to vote no on this nomination. First, I need to express my frustration and outrage about what happened here on the floor last night. In the middle of a debate about the next Attorney General--someone whose job it will be to defend the rights of all Americans; whose job it is to defend people from discrimination, inequity, and unfairness; whose job it is to defend women, to defend people of color, to defend all those who are too often told to sit down, stand down, be quiet--we saw the Republican leader selectively use the rules to silence our colleague, a woman Senator, who was reading the words of an African- American woman and a historic civil rights leader, reading the words of someone who embodies the fight for justice, for freedom, for equality, and for civil rights in America; someone who all of us should be looking to for lessons in these times, not someone whose words should be silenced because she said something people may not enjoy hearing. At a moment when we are engaged in a debate about how best to defend our fellow citizens from discrimination and fight back against forces that seek to demean others in order to gain power, I was stunned. I respect the decorum that the Senate strives to maintain, but there are times when you cannot stay silent. This is one of those times. We will not be silent.…”