Senate Quotes - Page 2

• I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying.

  Barack Obama

  Marriage, Gay, Defense

  "Barack Obama in His Own Words". Book edited by Lisa Rogak, 2007.

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• Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what it was and you will know something important about them, about our country and about the American people.

  Donald Rumsfeld

  Country, People, House

  Donald Rumsfeld (2001). “Public Statements of Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, 2001”

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• The power of the silent filibuster to distort Senate politics is now accepted on Capitol Hill and by the press as normal and not worth mentioning. Let me be the skunk at this political garden party and say this stinks. Representative government was not designed to work this way by the Founding Fathers.

  Juan Williams

  Father, Party, Garden

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• It costs about $27 million to win a seat in the United States Senate, so when you win one, you like to sit down.

  Arlen Specter

  Winning, United States, Cost

  "Arlen Specter tries stand-up comedy" by Tim Mak, www.politico.com. December 28, 2011.

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• Popularity should be no scale for the election of politicians. If it would depend on popularity, Donald Duck and The Muppets would take seats in senate.

  Orson Welles

  Ducks, Election, Popularity

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• Reparations, I believe, are talked about for political reasons, trying to cater for the purpose of getting votes. If Congress was serious about reparations - in '93 and '94 the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the White House, and not one single Republican vote was needed for reparations.

  J. C. Watts

  Believe, White, House

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• Though my plans at the moment are vague, I can assure you that I'll never run for the Senate in New York.

  Laura Bush

  Running, New York, Moments

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• Apparently there are some Democratic leaders in the Senate that are running for office who now believe in tax cuts.

  Jeb Bush

  Running, Believe, Cutting

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• Look, all this is about is utilizing the rules of the Senate, using a majority of the senators, to make sure that we get health reform done. We cannot wait another day.

  Barbara Boxer

  Waiting, Majority, Reform

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• House and Senate Republicans are now united in adopting earmark bans. We hope President Obama will follow through on his support for an earmark ban by pressing Democratic leaders to join House and Senate Republicans in taking this critical step to restore public trust.

  John Boehner

  House, Support, Leader

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• Diversity is so important for me, particularly in the United States Senate, and it's been important to every job that I've held. Whether you're in government or the private sector, we should be just as diverse as the community that we represent.

  Catherine Cortez Masto

  Jobs, Government, Diversity

  Source: www.glamour.com

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• Well, I was 29 years old when I came to the United States Senate, and I have learned a lot.

  Joe Biden

  Years, United States, I Have Learned

  "Meet the Candidates" with Tim Russert, www.nbcnews.com. April 29, 2007.

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• Filibusters have proliferated because under current rules just one or two determined senators can stop the Senate from functioning. Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to stop a vote; senators are rarely asked to pull all-nighters like Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.'

  Evan Bayh

  Two, Today, Determined

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• I’ve decided to run for the U.S. Senate because I believe Wisconsin families need a senator who will work hard to deliver results for the middle class - a leader with the courage to do what’s right, no matter how tough the odds or how powerful the special interests we have to fight.

  Tammy Baldwin

  Running, Powerful, Believe

  "Tammy Baldwin Announces Senate Run In Wisconsin" by Amanda Terkel, www.huffingtonpost.com. September 6, 2011.

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• My motivation for running for Senate was not for the stature of being a senator, but because I wanted to make a difference on issues I feel passionate about.

  Herman Cain

  Motivational, Running, Differences

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• We need to be protecting American citizens who are here, out of work, and hurting today-minorities, Blacks and Whites and all colors and races that are hurting today with high unemployment, but we seem to be more focused on how we can ram through this Senate a bill that would legalize millions and create an even more robust guest worker program. There are not enough jobs now. Give me a break.

  Jeff Sessions

  Hurt, Jobs, Race

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• The most temptation I'd experienced had been with Tomas, the Senate's spy who had been feeding off me without permission, and Mircea, who was probably plotting some nefarious scheme. I have no taste in men.

  Karen Chance

  Men, Temptation, Spy

  Karen Chance (2006). “Touch the Dark”, p.226, Penguin

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• The policy of the emperors and the senate, as far as it concerned religion, was happily seconded by the reflections of the enlightened, and by the habits of the superstitious, part of their subjects. The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful. And thus toleration produced not only mutual indulgence, but even religious concord.

  Edward Gibbon

  Religious, Reflection, People

  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ch. 2 (1776 - 1788)

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• I think if progressives stay at this, continue at the grassroots level to make the case that all Americans should have choice, all Americans ought to be able to hold insurance companies accountable, I think we will have 60 votes in the United States Senate for a strong bill.

  Ron Wyden

  Strong, Thinking, Should Have

  "Rachel Maddow Show", www.realclearpolitics.com. October 26, 2009.

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• Reform is not for the short-winded. I'm committed to making sure the Senate is more than just a graveyard for good ideas.

  Mark Udall

  Ideas, Reform, Committed

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• The Alien bill proposed in the Senate is a monster that must forever disgrace its parents.

  James Madison

  Parent, Forever, Monsters

  James Madison (1906). “The Writings of James Madison: 1790-1802”

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• When a fissure off the California coast started pumping and dumping oil on the nearby towns and beaches, everybody started dumping on Union Oil. Matters weren't helped one iota by a manufactured quotation attributed to Union's president, Fred Hartley, alleging his amazement at the publicity for the loss of a few birds.... Fred Hartley never said what the press reported, as the transcript and the Senate committee members definitely established. But I don't suppose the truth will ever catch up with the more colorful falsehood.

  Malcolm Forbes

  Beach, Nature, Loss

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• Roarke had to force himself not to snatch her up as she swept through the hallowed Senate halls. Members of the media were already leaping toward her, but she cut through them as if they weren’t there. “I like your style, Lieutenant Dallas,” he said when they’d fought their way to the car. “I like it a lot. And by the way, I don’t think I’m in love with you anymore. I know I am.

  Nora Roberts

  Love You, Cutting, Thinking

  J. D. Robb, Nora Roberts (2011). “J. D. Robb In Death Collection”, p.199, Penguin

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• Before the nineteen-seventies, most Republicans in Washington accepted the institutions of the welfare state, and most Democrats agreed with the logic of the Cold War. Despite the passions over various issues, government functioned pretty well. Legislators routinely crossed party lines when they voted, and when they drank; filibusters in the Senate were reserved for the biggest bills; think tanks produced independent research, not partisan talking points. The "D." or "R." after a politician's name did not tell you what he thought about everything, or everything you thought about him.

  George Packer

  War, Party, Independent

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• Thank you, Captain Obvious." "I'm on the Senate," he reminded me. "It's Lord Obvious.

  Karen Chance

  Captains, Lord, Obvious

  Karen Chance (2012). “Fury's Kiss: A Midnight's Daughter Novel”, p.217, Penguin

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