John Kerry on the Nuclear Option

The "nuclear option" seems to be all a lot of people can talk about lately. But the fact we're talking about it at all is a stark reminder that Washington is not doing the real work the American people elected us to do.

In the last few weeks, the House Majority Leader has gone on talk radio to attack a Supreme Court Justice appointed by Ronald Reagan, and the Leader of the Senate has accused those who disagree with his political tactics of waging a war against people of faith. But while they are jumping through hoops to ingratiate themselves to their party's base, the real problems that keep American families up at night fall by the wayside.

Now I don't go around preaching my faith, but I'll tell you what I believe: When hundreds of thousands of innocent souls have perished in Darfur, when 11 million children are without health insurance in the United States of America and when our colossal debt subjects our economic future to the whims of central bankers in Asia -- no one can tell me that faith demands the Senate spend its time arguing over a handful of judges. No one with those priorities can use my faith to intimidate me.

There’s no crisis -- 90% of the president’s nominees have already been confirmed. And there's no need to rewrite Senate rules to put substandard, extremist judges on the bench.

I will not lay down and put this narrow, stubborn agenda ahead of our families, ahead of our Constitution, and ahead of our values. We are a proud nation that respects the rights of the minority, values the separation of church and state, and believes in honesty and personal responsibility. And I refuse to stand by while our democracy is trampled by politicians more concerned about amassing power than helping the people who sent them to Washington in the first place.