Political Quotes

“there has been a great deal of discussion on the floor of the Senate about the current vacancy on the Supreme Court. Democrats want to fill it immediately. Republicans are much more interested in making sure the American people have an opportunity to weigh in on this very important decision. This is a lifetime appointment--a lifetime appointment--and the stakes could not be higher for our country. So it is perfectly reasonable to wait for the next President to make this critical nomination. It is also exactly the precedent that Democrats in this body, in the Senate, created for situations just like this one. First of all, let's remember it is not uncommon for there to be a vacancy on the Court. Sometimes the seat can be empty for even more than a year. There are eight Justices now. Two of them have already said they can handle the work that is available in front of them now with the seat vacant. Justice Alito said so, as did Justice Breyer. Now Justice Breyer, of course, was appointed by President Clinton. When Justice Breyer was asked the other day about the death of Justice Scalia, he said: ``We'll miss him, but we'll do our work.'' He has said: ``For the most part, it will not change.'' So there is no urgency to fill this vacancy on the Supreme Court right now. Second, we should acknowledge that the process of nominating and confirming a Supreme Court Justice has become very partisan. It has also become very political.…”