The merits of Ellsworth spoke for themselves. |
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. |
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}. |
There's something about my Scandinavian heritage that knows that life shouldn't be easy -- life's got to be hard, |
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. |
This fight was not about me, ... This whole decision was about the merits. It had nothing to do with the politics. |
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. |
This is a great day for South Dakota, but we think it's a great day for America, |
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. |
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. |
This was not a good time to close a number of these installations, |
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. |
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, |
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 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. |