Herb Kohl: “as passions rise higher and higher here in the Senate, I come to the floor today to urge that cooler heads prevail; to…”

“as passions rise higher and higher here in the Senate, I come to the floor today to urge that cooler heads prevail; to urge that the majority not take the fateful step they are contemplating; to urge that we step back from the cliff we are approaching, before it is too late. We have all heard the arguments for and against a rule change that has been dubbed ``the nuclear option.'' I will not reiterate those arguments here. But as someone who came to the Senate to get things done for real people, I have some experience trying to reach compromise on difficult issues. The heart of compromise is well known: one side cannot have all that they want. Yet the essence of the so called ``nuclear option'' is just that--one side wins, one party wins, one majority wins full power over who will sit on the Federal bench. The other side--the other party, the minority--is left powerless, silenced by a new rule that strips the minority of all power over judges. We all know that such an outcome is the opposite of moderation, the opposite of compromise, the opposite of bipartisanship. In short, the opposite of how to get things done in a way that encourages participation on both sides of the aisle. There is no need to go down this troubled partisan path on judicial nominations and my own State of Wisconsin has shown us a smoother road for more than a quarter century.…”