There is nothing more American than peaceful protest.
— Russ Feingold
Well, my view is that the insurance companies have done awfully well and spent a lot of money on a lot of things that don't have anything to do with health care.
I'm one of the only members of the U.S. Senate who isn't a millionaire. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a millionaire. But there ought to be a little economic diversity in the Senate and I try to provide it.
The conservative version of American exceptionalism has become a password of sorts for candidates who want to prove their credentials to a right-wing America.
Money in politics is a huge issue.
Occupy Wall Street is a real movement.
We need to get rid of the Federal Elections Commission. It's a joke. It doesn't enforce the law.
It is not only all right but necessary to stand up to George Bush.
What is the harm of doing the right thing? What is the harm of doing our job as legislators and making sure we do not stick the entire bankruptcy community with these provisions that do not make any sense?
The administration has a disturbing pattern of behavior when it comes to budgeting not only for the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but also for military requirements not directly related to these conflicts.
I'm proud to be a Democrat.
I believe in local control of education.
Tea Party people know that I stood against the Wall Street scam from Day One, that I voted against TARP, that I voted against repealing Glass-Steagall Act that kept these guys under some control.
The notion of American exceptionalism is effective in part because there is little on the face of it that is offensive.
It is not patriotic to decide to destroy a new president who was duly elected by an overwhelming margin. It is un-patriotic to resolve to destroy that presidency.
Most of my town hall meetings had always been love fests, and some of my guys used to complain: 'I'd like for somebody to yell at you a bit.'
When you buy toothpaste or detergent or gas, that is now used for the first time in your lifetime or my lifetime to support candidates in so-called 'independent ads.' Same thing for unions.
If a trip is worth taking, members of Congress should be prepared to justify paying for it out of their office accounts.
We should not use special budget procedures to jam through legislation to drill in the Arctic Refuge. This topic is too important to the public to address it in such a back-door manner. We should be having a full, open discussion of the issue during an energy debate.
Unfair trade agreements, passed by both Republicans and Democrats, have sent millions of jobs to other countries. We need to stop this hemorrhaging and find ways for American workers to compete in the new market.
I was one of 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act. I thought it was a harsh and unnecessary thing to do to people across this country who care enough about each other to want to be married.
The idea of allowing corporations to have unlimited influence on our democracy is very dangerous, obviously.
I've been outspent by my opponents every time I've run for U.S. Senate.
I don't know how it could be more stark or clear: this entire society is being dominated by corporate power in a way that may exceed what happened in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth century.
The Tea Party ended up being a shill for corporate America.
Instead of taking a very high-paying type of law job or something that I might be able to do, I have been a legislator. That's what I do. I think it's an honorable profession - if you're honest and have integrity and work hard.
There's a tendency on the part of Americans, all of us, to say, 'Hey, the Cold War is over, the Soviet Union is gone, we don't have to worry about these guys again.' We always have to be worried about them, we always have to be concerned about them, and we have to be well-informed.
I don't want to hear again from the attorney general or anyone on this floor that this government has shown it can be trusted to use the power we give it with restraint and care.
This has not been a legislative process worthy of the Senate. Members of the Judiciary Committee, as I just said, were implored to save their amendments for the floor. Then, when we got here, we were told no amendments could be accepted.
Health care for all Americans is the most pressing domestic issue today. It's far past time for the President and Congress to deliver health care to everyone.
