‘One of the Most Important Speeches I’ve Heard’: Democrat Praises GOP Senator For Lecturing Colleagues Who Refuse to Get ‘Stuff Done’
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) spoke passionately on the Senate floor Wednesday before the chamber took a vote to open debate on the border bill he helped to author. He knew the bill was doomed to fail, and as he spoke to his Senate colleagues he reminded them all what they were sent there to do: “Get stuff done and to solve problems.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) worked with Lankford and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) to put together a bipartisan bill that all sides could agree on. But pressure from former President Donald Trump (and, according to Lankford, unnamed right-wing commentators) forced other Republicans to reject the bill that they had once demanded.
Murphy shared part of Lankford’s speech on Twitter, calling his colleague’s statements “One of the most important speeches I’ve heard in 10 years in the Senate. Proud of you, friend.”
My friend James Lankford, knowing that minutes later his entire party will vote against our bipartisan bill to fix the border, explaining what it means to be a United States Senator.
One of the most important speeches I’ve heard in 10 years in the Senate.
Proud of you, friend. pic.twitter.com/yaufAmHQxb— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 7, 2024
Here is what Lankford said:
Madame President, I’m going to vote “yes” to be able to move on to this bill. So we need a change in law. I understand we have differences, but we’ve got to sit down together, figure out how we’re going to solve problems, because the American people sent us here to do that.
This is the pen that I was handed at that desk when I was sworn in to the United States Senate. And I signed a book that was at that desk with this pen because I was becoming a United States Senator. Because the people at home sent me here to get stuff done and to solve problems. There’s no reason for me to have this pen if we’re just going to do press conferences. I can do press conferences from anywhere. But we can only make law from this room. And to do that, you need one of these pens. And there’s 100 of them in this room, and 60 of us have to agree to solve a problem.
And I’m determined to sit down with anyone who wants to solve the problem, regardless of what side of the aisle that they’re on to figure out how we solve these things. Because Americans are ticked off that this is not resolved, and they expect us to get things done. So why don’t we do that?
Watch the video above via C-SPAN 2.
