“We face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope – what they deserve – is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds and different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared. A job that pays the bill, a chance to get ahead, most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.”
“Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We don’t allow fear or division to break our spirit. In this new decade, it’s time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how, together, we can deliver on that promise.”
“By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Co-pays will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber.”
“We face a deficit of trust – deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists, to do our work openly and to give our people the government they deserve.”
“Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests including foreign companies to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests and worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a Bill that helps to right this wrong.” – (Reuters)