When you vote today, if there is a Senate race in your state, consider the following words of members of the party which hopes to take over majority control of that body.

On Marriage

The rabid reactionary religious right has rarely looked more ridiculous. They know they don't have the votes to come even close to passing this amendment, but they have a sufficient stranglehold on the White House and the Republican leadership in Congress to force this issue to a vote anyway....    —  Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, concerning the Defense of Marriage Act

The Constitution of the United States is an historic guarantee of individual freedom. It has served as a beacon of hope, an example to people around the world who yearn to be free and to live their lives without government interference in their most basic human decisions. I took an oath when I joined this body to support and defend the Constitution. I will continue to fight this mean—spirited, divisive, poorly drafted, and misguided amendment when it comes to the Senate floor.    —  Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, objecting to the Judiciary Committee's Handling of the Constitutional Amendment on Marriage, May 18, 2006

I'm proud that Massachusetts continues to be a leader on marriage equality. Being part of a family is a basic right, and I look forward to the day when every state accepts this basic principle of fairness. Marriage is a solemn commitment to plan a future together, to share in life's celebrations, to be there as a source of comfort and support to ease life's burdens and pains. This week's debate in the Senate affects real families with real—life struggles. When the citizens of a state have decided to recognize those families —— through their state constitution or state laws —— the Senate has no business undermining their personal, private decisions. It's wrong to try to turn back the clock on the progress we've made in guaranteeing civil rights for all our people. That progress has been achieved at great cost and sacrifice, and we must not retreat. The Constitution has never been amended to discriminate any American, and now is no time to start.    —   Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on the defeat of the Federal Marriage Amendment in the Senate, June 7, 2006

I am proud that Connecticut was one of the first states to legalize civil unions and remain hopeful that we will be one of the first to enact full marriage equality...  I would have opposed the Federal 'Defense of Marriage Act'. I support the strengthening of any Federal non—discrimination and Federal Hate Crimes legislation. I believe that the rights enshrined in the United States Constitution belong to every American. Every American should be able to walk down the street free of violence, learn in a harassment—free environment, and work hard at their jobs without discrimination.    —  Ned Lamont, Democratic candidate for US Senate for Connecticut, Aug. '06 

On the Military

I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job.'    —  Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts

Equally as important, a volunteer army with our present constitutional crisis takes accountability away from the president and put the people further from control over military activities."    —  Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts

You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.    —  Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts

They told stories that at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.

We call this investigation the Winter Soldier Investigation.    —  John Kerry, testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 22, 1971

We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the "greater glory of the United States." We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars —— in fact, we will find it hard to join anything at all and when we do, we will demand relevancy such as other organizations have recently been unable to provide. We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans and Vietnamese. We will not uphold traditions which decorously memorialize that which was base and grim.    —  John Kerry, in "The New Soldier"

The War on Terror

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control.  You would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime —— Pol Pot or others —— that had no concern for human beings.    —  Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois — Comparing the treatment of the 20th Hijacker and others to millions innocents murdered by evil regimes.

"overwhelmed your respect for the truth." ..."This is a pattern here of what I see from you," ... 'it's very troubling. ... It's hard for me to let go of this war because people are still dying." ... "If you can't admit to this mistake, I hope that you will rethink it," ... "Let's not rewrite history, it's too soon for that," (emphasis added)    —  Senator Barbara Boxer of California, Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Condoleezza Rice Confirmation for Secretary of State

This program is breaking the law, and this President is breaking the law. Not only that, he is misleading the American people in his efforts to justify this program.    —  Statement of Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin On the President's Warrantless Wiretapping Program February 7, 2006

Jihadis' Choice

Of course Americans should vote Democrat...    —  Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity 

The victory of the resistance in Iraq would prove once more that when the will and the faith are applied victory is not only a slogan. We saw that in Lebanon (during Israel's confrontation against Hezbollah there in July and August); we saw it in Gaza (after Israel withdrew from the territory last summer) and we will see it everywhere there is occupation,    —  Hamas' Abu Abdullah

...prove the resistance is the most important tool and that this tool works. The victory of the Iraqi revolution will mark an important step in the history of the region and in the attitude regarding the United States.    —  Islamic Jihad's Saadi