There's nothing more important than our good health - that's our principal capital asset.
Arlen Specter
The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens.
The First Amendment freedom of religion is as important today as when the Bill of Rights was first written.
I am very much opposed to abortion personally. But I don't think it is the government's rule.
There is no higher value in our society than integrity.
It's inspirational to see someone who is dying smile.
We don't need holy wars. What we need is tolerance and brotherhood and simple humanity.
I don't expect people to agree with all my votes.
It costs about $27 million to win a seat in the United States Senate, so when you win one, you like to sit down.
Stability means respecting precedents.
I think if you can get people to laugh, you can get people to listen.
Fundraising is very, very time-consuming.
Lawyers advocate more so than state their own positions.
Americans' addiction to sports, with the NFL at the top, is based on the excitement generated by the potential for the unexpected great play which can only happen with honest competition from great athletes.
When the students are occupied, they're not juvenile delinquents. I believe that education is a capital investment.
Well, I believe that when you are confirming a United States Supreme Court Justice, that it really isn't Democratic or Republican; it's American.
I just was not going to subject my record to the bleak prospects of a primary election.
In our social contract, we have provisions that see to it that you take care of people who need some help.
As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party.
The Supreme Court has a very light backlog. They leave a lot of splits among the circuits, a lot of uncertainty. And I think they ought to work a lot harder.
As a matter of traditional and sound constitutional doctrine, an amendment to the Constitution should be the last resort when all other measures have proved inadequate.
I have not taken a position on that nuclear option. My view is I'm not going to do anything until I come to that bridge. I'm not going to jump off the bridge until I come to it.
You know, a statesman is a dead politician.
When the 14th Amendment, equal protection clause was enacted, the galleries in the Senate were segregated. Now we have integration.
Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.
There's nothing in the First Amendment that even remotely talks about spending money for political contests, and to say that an individual can spend as much of his or her own money as he or she wants constitutionally without any limitation, I think is just absurd.
But one way or another, judges perform a very vital function in our society. They have a risky job and they are entitled to security.
My father was an immigrant who literally walked across Europe to get out of Russia. He fought in World War I. He was wounded in action. My father was a great success even though he never had money. He was a very determined man, a great role model.
American credibility in the war on terrorism depends on a strong stand against all terrorist acts, whether committed by foe or friend.
I'm ordinarily pretty correct in what I say.
African-Americans are underrepresented.
Effective security measures do not come cheap.
The best way to reduce the cost of medical care is to reduce the illness.
There's a great public disinclination toward politicians.
I'm a loyal Democrat.
I must say I am not pleased to have to arrange the Senate schedule around the availability of Senators who are running for President.
If you are going to have to play defense all the time, you cannot have the kind of ingenuity, assertiveness, independence, and intelligence which is what has made our country strong.
The essence of a democracy is a free electorate.
There is no doubt that our nation's security and defeating terrorism trump all other priorities.
Heart disease continues to be the number one killer; cancer, the number 2 killer, not far behind. The tragic aspect of these deadly diseases is that they could all be cured, I do believe, if we had sufficient funding.
As I think through the issue of funding the rebuilding of Iraq, I think about the analogy of a bankruptcy proceeding. There is no doubt that Iraq as a country is bankrupt.
We are not utilizing the Iraqi oil for U.S. purposes. We are not asking that the Iraqi oil be used to pay our military expenses. We are asking only that the Iraqi oil be used to rebuild Iraq - that is, to rebuild Iraq for the Iraqi people.
Strong advocacy for education, health care and worker safety will be indispensable if they are to get their fair share of President Bush's austere budget for the next fiscal year.
If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine.
When Pat Robertson says there is no constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state, I say he is wrong.
Whatever my party affiliation, I will continue to be guided by President Kennedy's statement that sometimes party asks too much.
It's been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania.
It so happens that I'm pro choice.
Separation of power says the judiciary committee is supposed to confirm qualified judges and then what the Supreme Court does, that is their function, not my function.
I've been in a lot of elections.
