Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) compared Democrats' attempts
to keep the filibuster to Hitler's moves in 1942 in
a floor speech in the Senate Thursday afternoon, RAW
STORY has learned.
The following is a transcript of the particular section
of the senator's floor speech, from the closed-captioned
text taken by the Senate.
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AND WE SHOULDN'T GO MUCKING AROUND IN THIS INSTITUTION
AND CHANGING THE WAY WE'VE DONE THINGS,
PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE BALANCE OF POWERS
BETWEEN THE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT. AND THE INDEPENDENCE
OF ONE OF THOSE BRANCHES OF THE JUDICIARY. WE MUST TREAD
VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE WE GO RADICALLY CHANGING THE WAY
WE DO THINGS THAT HAS SERVED THIS COUNTRY WELL, AND
WE HAVE RADICALLY CHANGED THE WAY WE DO THINGS HERE.
SOME ARE SUGGESTING WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE THE LAW,
WE'RE TRYING TO BREAK THE RULES. REMARKABLE. REMARKABLE
HUBRIS. I MEAN, IMAGINE, THE RULE HAS BEEN IN PLACE
FOR 214 YEARS THAT THIS IS THE WAY WE CONFIRM JUDGES.
BROKEN BY THE OTHER SIDE TWO YEARS AGO, AND THE AUDACITY
OF SOME MEMBERS TO STAND UP AND SAY, HOW DARE
YOU BREAK THIS RULE. IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF ADOLF HITLER
IN 1942 "I'M IN PARIS. HOW DARE YOU INVADE ME.
HOW DARE YOU BOMB MY CITY? IT'S MINE." THIS IS
NO MORE THE RULE OF THE SENATE THAN IT WAS THE RULE
OF THE SENATE BEFORE NOT TO FILIBUSTER. IT WAS AN UNDERSTANDING
AND AGREEMENT, AND IT HAS BEEN ABUSED. IN A SENSE, WHAT
WE SEE HERE ON THE FLOOR OF THE UNITED STATES
{16:30:35} (MR. SANTORUM) { NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
}
