There is no effort being made on the part of any Republican, that I'm aware of, that would allow us to do something constructive on estate tax relief today, ... Clearly they're not interested in an accomplishment. They're not interested in reducing the estate taxes of people. They're interested in playing to their base.

There's a right way and a wrong way to cut taxes. The Republican tax cuts reward the few, our tax cuts invest in the future,

The president began to make his case to us today,

If I just did it to help Democrats, I guess I am puzzled why so many Republicans would help us.

People were concerned about national security, and that precluded us from having the opportunity to break through on the issues that we cared most about -- the economy, education and health care,

I think this goes far broader than public broadcasting. I think across the board there is an effort by Republican ideologues to force institutions across society to bend to their will. You see it in [House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay's raising hell with the courts and demanding they pursue his brand of justice. . . . You see it in this action here.