Civility in the Senate
Floor Speech
CIVILITY IN THE SENATE -- (Senate - July 08, 2009)
Mr. REID. Mr. President, every Wednesday in a first floor office meeting room there is a Prayer Breakfast. Members of the Jewish faith and Christian faith appear there and talk about their life experiences. Today was a tremendously stimulating day. Senator Ted Kaufman, from Delaware, made the presentation.
I bring that to the attention of the Senate for a number of reasons. One is that Ted Kaufman has a stunning life story, not the least of which is starting in 1972, with a 29-year-old man named Joe Biden, who stood no chance of being elected in the State of Delaware, running against a man who had served in many different positions, including Member of the House of Representatives, Governor, and was a sitting Senator. But this young 29-year-old, with Ted Kaufman helping run his campaign, was elected, surprising everyone.
As we know, Senator Biden, who had been recently elected--on top of the world, barely old enough to serve constitutionally--after having been in the Senate for a little over a month, his wife and daughter were killed and his two boys were badly injured. Ted Kaufman served with him as a staffer until, I think, about 1995, when he went into the private sector and then came back as a Senator, appointed when Senator Biden was elevated to become Vice President.
But the most important part I wish to relate to the Senate is that he said, from the time he left here in 1995 until the day when he came back as a Senator, the civility that is now here was not in the Senate in 1995. He said the atmosphere here is so much better now than it was in 1995.
Everyone should appreciate what Ted Kaufman said. We have tried--President Obama has tried, I have tried--and I hope that has helped civility here. We all have to understand, as Senator Kaufman indicated to the Members assembled there today, that there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans philosophically, but that doesn't mean they cannot work together as friends. He gave a couple examples of Senators on the floor debating and then walking off shaking hands.
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