Members Of The United States Senate

"I don’t think the American people had a clear picture of either Nixon or me...I think they thought that Nixon was a strong, decisive, tough-minded guy, and that I was an idealist and antiwar guy who might not attach enough significance to the security of the country. The truth is, I was the guy with the war record, and my opposition to Vietnam was because I was interested in the nation’s well-being."

"I think the Vietnamese are better off in Vietnam."

"Come home to the affirmation that we have a dream. Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward."

"From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America."

"From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America."

"Chairman (Larry) O'Brien, Chairwoman (Yvonne) Burke, Senator (Ted) Kennedy, Senator (Thomas) Eagleton and my fellow citizens, I'm happy to join us (sic) for this benediction of our Friday sunrise service. I assume that everyone here is impressed with my control of this Convention in that my choice for Vice President was challenged by only 39 other nominees. And I can tell you that Eleanor (McGovern) is very grateful that the Oregon delegation at least kept her in the race with (wife of Attorney General John N Mitchell) Martha Mitchell. -McGovern's acceptance speech at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, America's Political Parties: Power and Privelige Part 1: The Democrats hosted by Ben Wattenberg"

"From the entrenchment of special privileges in tax favoritism; from the waste of idle lands to the joy of useful labor; from the prejudice based on race and sex; from the loneliness of the aging poor and the despair of the neglected sick: come home, America."

"...“soft” on defense. For forty years now, Democrats have sought to avoid the label that was attached to George McGovern, the World War II hero who recognized the folly of squandering America’s human, moral and fiscal prospects on war-making in Vietnam. It is true that McGovern lost his 1972 presidential race. But he did not lose because he was wrong. He lost because of the wrong politics of a moment when his own party was divided and his opposition was ruthless."

"I opened the doors of the Democratic Party and 20 million people walked out. -ibid"

"The wisdom and hope that was inherent in McGovern’s call that year was not sufficient to defeat Richard Nixon. In a matter of months, however, polls would reveal that Americans regretted their decision, as they came to recognize the extent of Nixon’s corruption. Forty years on, McGovern’s vision that America might come home to the ideals that had nourished it from the beginning is less a matter of hope than necessity."

"The very mudsills of society…. We call them slaves…. But I will not characterize that class at the North with that term; but you have it. It is there, it is everywhere; it is eternal."

"I think then I may safely conclude and I firmly believe that American slavery is not only not a sin but especially commanded by God through Moses and approved by Christ through His Apostles."

"I endorse without reserve the much-abused sentiment of Gov. M'Duffie, that "slavery is the corner stone of our Republican edifice;" while I repudiate, as ridiculously absurd, that much-lauded but nowhere accredited dogma of Mr. Jefferson, that "all men are born equal.""

"GENTLEMEN: Before the Senate adjourns, I desire to return my thanks for the very kind and complimentary resolution unanimously passed on Saturday last, and to assure the Senate that so long as I shall have the honor of continuing Presiding Officer, my highest ambition will be to retain the personal regard and confidence of my colleagues. In pursuance of the resolution adopted on Saturday last, I now declare the Senate adjourned sine die"

"This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there - with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.""

"It's obviously a tremendous loss for the state .... I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess.""

"[On the victims of the hurricane Katrina] "Here in Idaho, we couldn't understand how people could sit around on the kerbs waiting for the federal government to come and do something. We had a dam break in 1976, but we didn't whine about it. We got out our backhoes and we rebuilt the roads and replanted the fields and got on with our lives. That's the culture here. Not waiting for the federal government to bring you drinking water. In Idaho there would have been entrepreneurs selling the drinking water.""

"He gave a good speech at the end, but as you pointed out already, there was a horrendous gaffe right at the end of it. I wish he would stay on script… I think most people who don’t deal in the lane of foreign relations don’t realize that those nine words that he uttered would cause the kind of eruption they did. But anytime you say, or even as he did suggest, that the policy was regime change, it’s gonna cause a huge problem"

"We went to the urinals, where we both unzipped. The restroom became, uh, busy -- too busy to do anything. So we zipped up and then followed each other to the second restroom in Union Station, where we began the same process. And had a -- I also performed fellatio for a very, very short amount of time, as that restroom became busy as well. At that point, we both zipped up and left and went on our separate ways... I've always been interested in politics, and probably if you -- if you showed me pictures of the hundred senators, I could probably name, you know, 75 or 80 of them... There's no doubt in my mind that that's who it was."

"On social issues, and this is where you get the charges of hypocrisy, Craig has pledged his opposition to gay marriage and civil unions, he voted against allowing gays and lesbians in the military, he voted against abortion rights, and he voted guilty in the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton."

"At 1200 hours I was working a plain-clothes detail involving lewd conduct in the main men's public restroom of the Northstar Crossing of the Linburgh terminal. From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of a person seated to the right of me. An unidentified person entered to the left of me. From my seated position, I was able to see his shoes and ankles. At 1213 hours, I could see an older, white male with grey hair standing outside my stall. He was standing about three feet away and had a roller bag with him. The male was later identified by driver's license as Larry Edwin Craig. I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, fidget with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes. I was able to see Craig's blue eyes as he looked into my stall. At 1215 hours, the male in the stall to the left of me flushed the toilet and exited the stall. Craig entered the stall and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door. My experiences show that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall. From my position I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me. He was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes. At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times, then moved his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig, as he moved his right foot so that it touched side of my left foot, which was within my stall area. At 1217 hours, I saw Craig swipe his hand under the stall divider for a few seconds. The swipe went in the direction from the front-door side of the stall back towards the back wall. Craig swiped his hand again for a few seconds in the same motion to where I could see more of his fingers. Craig then swiped his hand in the same motion a third time for a few seconds. I could see that it was Craig's left hand, due to the position of his thumb. I could also see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger, as his hand was on my side of the stall divider. At about 1219 hours, I held my police identification in my right hand down by the floor so that Craig could see it. With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, "No." I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. Craig handed me a business card that identified himself as a United States Senator, as he stated, "What do you think about that?" I responded by setting his business card down on the table and again asking him for his driver's license. In a recorded, post-Miranda interview, Craig stated the following: He is a commuter. He went into the bathroom. He was standing outside the stalls for one to two minutes waiting for the stall. He has a wide stance when he goes to the bathroom, and that is why it may have touched mine."

"The American family will fear less, our national security will be more assured, and we won‘t let the Venezuelas or Nigerias or the Saudi Arabias or the Irans jerk us around by the gas nozzle the way they are doing it now."

"The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, a naughty boy. I'm going to speak out for the citizens of my state who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy."

"Thank you all very much for coming out today."

"Matt, you won't believe this but I don't use the Internet. I don't have a computer at my desk. I have never used the Internet. It's just not what I do. I email with my Blackberry. No, I did not know that and I had no reason to know that."

"Of course, I believe I have an unfair edge over most of my colleagues right now. My mind works faster than my mouth does. Washington would probably be a better place if more people took a moment to think before they spoke."

"I am not gay. I never have been gay."

"He has assisted so many projects for so many senators that when old Carl wants something for his beloved Arizona, his fellow senators fall all over themselves giving him a hand. They'd probably vote landlocked Arizona a navy if he asked for it."

"This man knows the legislative process as few others have learned them. He knows that legislation is compromise, he knows that there must be give and take, and he knows how legislative work is accomplished. — Morris Udall"

"No other man has had the distinction of serving this long in Congress, and I venture to say it will be a long time before another does. — Strom Thurmond"

"No man in Senate history has wielded more influence with less oratory."

"I'am a workhorse, not a showhorse"

"Every Federal program which has contributed to the development of the West—irrigation, power, reclamation—bears his mark, and the great Federal highway program which binds this country, together, which permits this State to be competitive east and west, north and south, this in large measure is his creation. — John F. Kennedy"

"Never give your enemies any more reason than they already have to go on hating you."

"Because Arizona has two things people will drive thousands of miles to see — Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest. They can't get there without roads."

"I'd call Congress together, have the House elect a new speaker, and then I'd resign and let him become president"

"Madam President, January 22, 1997, Senator Collins cast her first roll call vote for Madeleine Albright to be Secretary of State. From that moment on, she has not missed one single, solitary vote; zero sick days, zero scheduling conflicts. Whether we were voting on war or peace, historic legislation, or the most routine and uncontroversial bills and nominations, the Senator has made sure that Maine got its say every single time. So here is some perspective. The longest consecutive games streak in Major League Baseball famously belonged to Cal Ripken, Jr. Well, our colleague from Caribou has lapped him three times and counting. And, by the way, the Iron Horse didn't have to plan around weekly air travel in and out of New England, all winter, every winter. Anybody who knows Senator Collins knows this moment is not really about a round number; it is about the approach which the number happens to reflect. Our colleague is diligent. She is devoted. Her level of preparation is unparalleled. She holds herself to the highest standards, and she delivers. It is in her blood. Both of our colleague's parents served separate terms as mayor of Caribou. But the Senator also draws inspiration from outside the gene pool. She rightly idolizes her predecessor from Maine, the legendary Margaret Chase Smith, but even Senator Smith's own impressive voting streak topped out just shy of 3,000. I am just sorry that today's milestone moment couldn't present our colleague with a challenge worthy of her skills. Lucky number 8,000 didn't even require a sprained ankle or a hasty exit from a departing airplane. So congratulations to our colleague on this moment and all that it represents."

"The fact that after millions of people across the country cast their votes that our political system is basically controlled by Joe Manchin of WV and Susan Collins of Maine makes no fucking sense."

"In this case, though, Collins chose not to listen to a survivor—or, more exactly, she found reasons not to listen. Murkowski felt differently. After her vote on Friday morning, she told reporters that she was on her way back to her office to work on a floor statement about her decision. Last month, a reporter asked Murkowski if she had ever had a #MeToo moment. Murkowski answered yes, but did not elaborate."

"Collins voted for the GOP tax scam."

"Senator Collins has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently experiencing mild symptoms. The Senator will isolate and work remotely in accordance with CDC guidelines"

"Together, these two relatively centrist Republicans controlled the fate of Kavanaugh’s nomination—which had looked assured until a few weeks ago, when several women came forward to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. (Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.) How did these two lawmakers, who have at times been treated as a pair on high-stakes votes, reach contrary ends?"

"Contrary to the suspicions of some people on the right, Collins isn’t a closet Democrat. She voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and for all but two of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees. In 2010, she voted against the A.C.A.; in 2011 and 2015, she voted to repeal it. On many occasions, she has criticized the 2010 reform for offering Americans limited choices and high premiums and deductibles. But, unlike most of her G.O.P. colleagues, Collins has also defied the Party line and recognized some of the good that Obamacare has done."

"In a party that was less ideological and less dominated by rich, right-wing donors than today’s G.O.P., all of these points would be regarded as uncontroversial. According to a new CBS News poll, just twenty per cent of Americans approve of the Graham-Cassidy bill, and the earlier G.O.P. repeal proposals were just as unpopular. But, despite its chronic lack of public support, the G.O.P.’s effort to sabotage the health-care system came within a few votes of succeeding in the Senate. For now, at least, it appears to be dead. On Tuesday afternoon, Republican leaders reportedly agreed not to hold a vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill. If this really is the end of the effort to repeal Obamacare, a few Republicans of character will have played a key role. And history will recall that Susan Collins was in the vanguard."

"I appreciated the instances when members from the other side of the aisle supported HUD's work, crossing partisan lines. Mario Diaz-Balart and Susan Collins were two Republicans who helped maximize HUD's impact on people in need."

"I think so much depends on what happens in the next six months. If the president is determined to go ahead with this plan, and he appears to be determined, I hope it works—for our country, for Iraq, for our soldiers. I hope that I prove to be as wrong as I’ve ever been in my life."

"We saw, on 6 January 2021, how ambiguities, simple law, were exploited. We need to prevent that from happening again. I’m hopeful that we can come up with a bipartisan bill that will make very clear that the vice-president’s role is simply ministerial, that he has no ability to halt the count"

"Roe. Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article 3 of our Constitution itself. He believes that precedent is not just a judicial policy, it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent. In other words, precedent isn’t a goal or an aspiration. It is a constitutional tenet that has to be followed except in the most extraordinary circumstances. The judge further explained that precedent provides stability, predictability, reliance and fairness."

"The country owes Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, a big vote of thanks. Absent her steadfastness over the past few months, the G.O.P. might have succeeded in blowing up Obamacare. If that had happened, many millions of Americans would now be facing the possibility of losing their health-insurance coverage, while countless seniors and sick people would be on the hook to pay much higher insurance premiums."

"I have supported the President in his efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein. I think Iraq poses a threat to the region; he poses a threat to our interests both abroad and here at home. And, I think it is important for the President to build support among our allies, to build support at the UN for what he's doing, but that face is that Saddam Hussein over last 11 years has refused to obey 16 UN resolutions. He is a megalomaniac. He's been a threat to his own people. And we can't negotiate with him in the same way that we've been able to negotiate with the heads of other opposing nations."