John Thune Quotes (49 Quotes)

Today the voters of South Dakota spoke and I am enormously grateful that they have given me the opportunity to serve as their next United States senator,

Obviously this is a victory for South Dakota, all of South Dakota, ... I said this earlier and I mean it. I don't care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or how you voted in the last election. People realized there are some issues that transcend politics, and this is one of them.

This fight was not about me. It was all about the people of South Dakota and Rapid City who were impacted by the decision. This whole decision was about the merits. It had nothing to do with politics.

Although I still believe we should not be closing U.S. military facilities while at war, I commend the BRAC commission for taking an independent and objective approach to this process,

There is no indication that there was any certainty about when this will happen. And to me it sounds like a bunch of bureaucratic mumbo jumbo about the process that they have in that country Japan.

For that, all South Dakotans owe him a big debt of gratitude, ... I wish him and his family the very best in the future.

This argument was about the merits of this base and its relevance to our national security, ... And we believe that the BRAC commission saw it that way as well.

I've been on the other end of this equation. I would much rather be on this end, ... The voters of South Dakota have spoken. I am enormously grateful they have given me an opportunity to serve as their next U.S. senator.

I'm extremely disappointed in what in my view was the secretary of Defense's poor judgment,

We can revel in this for a minute, because it's been a long, hard fight. But we need to start taking steps now to continue to work to BRAC-proof Ellsworth. In 10 years, they might come back and take another bite of the apple.

We really don't know right now what's going on, on the ground over there. It changes by the hour, with respect to this constitution,

What I'm hearing back home is 'My gosh, it's so confusing,

I think Republicans should probably be encouraged by Thune's decision, yes, ... I'm sure they're happy at the NRSC today, and I think Tom Daschle is going to have a long holiday season.

This is a significant development for our local economy. Job creation is vital to keep our economy growing and strong. I applaud John Morrell for making this significant investment in Sioux Falls.

You're trying to pull together a lot of different people, a lot of different factions ... but I'm hopeful that when it's all said and done that they'll have a constitution that ultimately will be ratified by their government,

We believe there's a significant opportunity to expand and improve the base. There are some options we think could make Ellsworth really a premier base, an elite base in training. Bringing additional missions to Ellsworth is the best way to ensure its long-term operational status.

We must ensure that today's seniors' benefits are rock solid and find a solution that fixes Social Security for the next generation that is just entering the workforce.

Social Security is an extremely complicated program.

That's something that everybody has to look at and say, 'Well, what's the end game here If in fact she will not survive this process, what's plan B

We've made the decision that we're going to win this on the merit. ... We think there is tremendous military value for Ellsworth going forward and we think we can persuade five of the nine commissioners to take Ellsworth off the list,

The issue is the future of Social Security. The program as we know it today will not last. It is headed for bankruptcy.

For conservatives, she is going to have to be very forthcoming in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to give them the comfort level that they need, the confidence level that she is going to be a judge in the mold that the president indicated a Scalia or Thomas.

I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it's marked by the blood of those who died defending it.

He made a pitch for why he would be good in leadership.

Ethanol reduces our dependence on foreign sources of oil and is an important weapon in the War on Terror. By investing in South Dakota's ethanol producers, we will strengthen our energy security and create new jobs.

We must work together to save and strengthen Social Security not just for my father's generation but also for my daughters' generation.

This is partly a function of approval ratings. People pay attention to polls and start saying, 'Lets take a more independent tack.' It is frankly self-interest, self-preservation.

my hope would be that the president will allow the process to work.

Her decision to withdraw out of respect for the separation of powers, one of America's greatest founding principles, was a selfless act of courage that I commend.

I am echoing what I hear people say in South Dakota about their senator and as they travel around the country having to deal with the chief obstructionist label. And I believe that is embarrassing to South Dakota,

This was not a good time to close a number of these installations,

The remarkable thing about it is how quickly he was willing to throw Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry overboard in order to help himself in South Dakota, ... For years, Tom Daschle has been telling us one thing here in South Dakota and then doing the opposite in Washington.

My meeting with Judge Roberts today only furthered my high opinion of him and my confidence in his ability to serve as chief justice of the Supreme Court, ... This is a man of high moral character and sound legal judgment, who has a profound respect for the Constitution and the role he is ready to assume.

I called him this morning to thank him, and I said that we need to think about adding another face to Mount Rushmore, ... He talked to virtually everybody and, as the former head of the Air Combat Command, brought tremendous credibility.

We can stop the negative tone now, and we can reclaim this campaign from the special interest groups who want to control the message and the election if we mutually request a ban on ads from political parties and independent groups,

I believe it was the right decision not only for South Dakota but for America's national security interests, ... This is a good decision for America.

Let's not dismiss or attack individual ideas as being inadequate before we have had a chance to assess their positive effect as part of a whole solution.

In South Dakota, former GOP Rep. John Thune declared victory over Daschle after his own drawn-out wait. It would be nice just once to have an election settled before 4 a.m. in the morning, ... But I have to tell you, I've been on the other end of this equation, and if I have to wait till 4 a.m. in the morning, I'd rather be in on this end.

I believe this election, like the one two years ago, is going to be decided by a handful of votes,

The fact he is doing this at the very time the Republican convention is going on tells me that his political situation is becoming very difficult, ... The Daschle campaign is very desperate right now.

I don't happen to subscribe to the notion that everybody who criticizes Tom Daschle is criticizing Tim Johnson. I think that's a bit of a stretch.

He's faced with exactly the same decision that he had to face in 2002, ... Last time, John chose the greater challenge. It's an eerily similar decision.

I think most people are granting her, according her, the benefit of the doubt, subject to the time she has to appear before the committee to make her case in person,

For conservatives out there, she's going to have to be very forthcoming ... to give them the comfort level that they need.

(We will) look at some military construction projects that we can continue to enhance the value of that base, so we can BRAC-proof it for the future, ... There are going to be other BRAC rounds, we don't know when, whether it's five years, seven years, 10 years. They're going to come back and try and take another bite at this apple.

This was something that was incredibly deeply felt. It is an issue that unites conservatives around the country, ... There are lots of issues we disagree about, but the one unifying factor in the last several years and continues to this day is the courts.

Funding our rural schools is very important, but it would be inappropriate to do so by selling parts of the Black Hills.

Now, Democrats, especially Pelosi and Reid, think they have the upper hand and have an opportunity to put Republicans and the Bush administration in a difficult position and are capitalizing on it, ... But there is a certain risk here. ... People in this country have a sense of where the limits are. (Democratic leaders) are on the verge of crossing that line.

With this much clutter out there and this much money being spent on the airwaves, the candidates start losing control of the message,