Politiquotes of the Week: July 29

The debt ceiling trumps all other issues.

President Obama - "The debate is about how it should be done," said President Obama in a Monday address to the nation. "How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don't need and didn't ask for? That's not right. It's not fair."

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President Obama - "The debate is about how it should be done," said President Obama in a Monday address to the nation. "How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don't need and didn't ask for? That's not right. It's not fair."

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House Speaker John Boehner - "Get your a** in line," House Speaker John Boehner told members of the Republican conference. "This is the bill. I can't do this job unless you're behind me."

Controversy All Around - Since groups can make donations, one of the largest criticisms of Super PACs is that it becomes difficult to track exactly whom is spending what to support a candidate. One of the largest critics of super PACs is former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who, according to the Washington Examiner, called the Supreme Court’s ruling to allow Super PACs to persist as “one of the worst decisions ever seen." (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

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Sen. John McCain - "That is not fair to the American people to hold out and say we won't agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution," Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) said on the Senate floor of Tea Party debt limit demands. "It's unfair, it's bizzaro. And maybe some people have only been in this body for six or seven months or so really believe that."

Photo By Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - "[What] our plan does, though, is it forces the president back to the table, kicking and screaming about taxes and spending in an election year, which he does not want to do. I mean, that's the essence of the president's position. He doesn't want to have to mess with it while he's running for re-election," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) in an interview on Fox News's On the Record.

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - "[What] our plan does, though, is it forces the president back to the table, kicking and screaming about taxes and spending in an election year, which he does not want to do. I mean, that's the essence of the president's position. He doesn't want to have to mess with it while he's running for re-election," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) in an interview on Fox News's On the Record.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - "Nobody believes that the Boehner proposal is anything but a big wet kiss to the right-wing -- and I mean the Tea Party. That's what I mean," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a Wednesday press conference. "It's too bad his caucus is being run by such a small number of people."

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - "Nobody believes that the Boehner proposal is anything but a big wet kiss to the right-wing -- and I mean the Tea Party. That's what I mean," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a Wednesday press conference. "It's too bad his caucus is being run by such a small number of people."

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Herman Cain - "While I stand by my opposition to the interference of sharia law into the American legal system, I remain humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends," GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain said in a statement after a meeting with Muslim leaders. "I am truly sorry for any comments that may have betrayed my commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedom of religion guaranteed by it. Muslims, like all Americans, have the right to practice their faith freely and faithfully."

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Herman Cain - "While I stand by my opposition to the interference of sharia law into the American legal system, I remain humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends," GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain said in a statement after a meeting with Muslim leaders. "I am truly sorry for any comments that may have betrayed my commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedom of religion guaranteed by it. Muslims, like all Americans, have the right to practice their faith freely and faithfully."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi\r - "The speaker chose, when he didn't have the votes, instead of [reaching] out in a bipartisan way to see how we could work together, he chose to go to the dark side."

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - "This is an excuse ... a budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government, plain and simple. They don't just want to make cuts. They want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the Department of Education. They want to destroy your rights. They do not like government," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said at a Tuesday news conference.

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Rep. Allen West - "I'm ready to drive the car," said Rep. Allen West during a closed-door meeting of House Republican lawmakers after Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy played a clip from the 2010 crime thriller The Town to encourage support for Speaker John Boehner's debt limit proposal, the Washington Post reports. In the clip, Doug MacRay, a bank robber played by Ben Affleck, says to his friend Jem Coughlin, played by Jeremy Renner, 'I need your help. I can't tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we're going to hurt some people." Jem then responds, "Whose car are we gonna take?"