The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions and if the road to hell is paved with them then it's a pretty good detour.

The reason that minorities and women don't have a better shot at getting elected to the Senate or to statewide office is because the campaign finance rules are so skewed as to make it very difficult for non-traditional candidates to raise the money necessary to get elected.

People just want to hear some common sense... and I bring to bear the experience in local government and state government and national government - I was the first woman in history on the Senate Finance Committee - not to mention the diplomatic international experience.

As Michigan's voice on the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee I will continue working to make sure the next generation of advanced technologies and alternative fuel vehicles are made right here in America.

I rise today to offer a formal and heartfelt apology to all the victims of lynching in our history and for the failure of the United States Senate to take action when action was most needed.

Mr. Gonzales' failure to respond to questions legitimately posed to him by the Senate raises grave doubts in my mind as to his fitness to serve the people of the United States as their Attorney General.

I thought if anyone need a leg up it was our foster children. So I started getting involved in education reform and that was back in 1998. And as a result of all the reform work that I had done people urged me to run for the Minnesota state Senate. I did I was there for six years.

Tonight you are hearing from the Democratic women of the Senate... We stand together on so many issues: economic prosperity quality education for all protecting a woman's right to choose.

The Oval Office symbolizes... the Constitution the hopes and dreams and I'm going to say democracy. And when you have a dress code in the Supreme Court and a dress code on the floor of the Senate floor of the House I think it's appropriate to have an expectation that there will be a dress code that respects the office of the President.

When my mom ran for the Senate my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice 'Why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation?'

I've decided to run for the U.S. Senate because I believe Wisconsin families need a senator who will work hard to deliver results for the middle class - a leader with the courage to do what's right no matter how tough the odds or how powerful the special interests we have to fight.

I admired Eugene McCarthy's courage and although I left his Senate staff after four years to accept a job as the researcher on the editorial page of the 'Washington Post ' I remained an admirer.

I really think the Patriot Act violates our Constitution. It was it is an illegal act. The Congress the Senate and the president cannot change the Constitution.

Violence is a problem we all want to solve. I want to make sure that kids learn to deal with anger by learning how to talk with people to solve problems. Here in the United States Senate I want to make sure we have safe schools safe neighborhoods and good things for kids to do after school!