ON THE TEA PARTY
Buck: "I think it's a legitimate political movement. I think what we're talking about are folks that are frustrated that we are spending so much money in Washington, D.C. And they're every bit as frustrated with Republicans as they are with the Democrats, because the Republicans are every bit as much to blame for the mess that we're in as the Democrats."
Bennet: "I've had town halls in every part of our state, red and blue, and said the same thing in all those places. And what I'll say is this, my favorite rooms are the ones where are the Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated voters, and Tea Party people. Because when folks are together in a room, they actually have to listen to each other."
ON 'FLIP-FLOPPING'
Buck: "It is easy when you have a tracker and they have 100 examples of answers ... to use tape that shows a slight deviation in the answer. It is not fair to say that I have backtracked on those issues."
Bennet: "We're never gonna say exactly the same thing every — you know, every second of every day — but the flip flops in this race are unbelievable."
ON BENNET'S 'WE HAVE $13 TRILLION IN DEBT AND NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT'
Bennet: "I say we have not even had the decency to maintain the assets that our parents and grandparents built for us. Our roads. Our bridges. Our wastewater systems. Our sewer systems. By the way, those weren't Bolsheviks. Those weren't socialists who built those things for us."
ON HEALTH REFORM
Bennet: "I did cast a vote for healthcare and I also said that I thought the process was horrible. The status quo before we passed healthcare was also horrible."
ON THE DEBT
Buck: "I'll tell you, Sen. Bennett does one thing in Washington, D.C., and then comes back to Colorado and talks about a completely different thing. He has spent — on his watch in Washington, D.C., — been part of the spending of $3 trillion. That's $3 trillion. ... And that's something that he has to take responsibility for."
Bennet: "The budget proposals that he's made would blow — without even talking about the (extending the Bush tax cuts) — $1.3 trillion more of a hole into our budget than we already have."
ON BUCK'S 'BUYER'S REMORSE' COMMENTS
Buck: "What I told the Greeley Tribune, I gave them five or six reasons why I thought a jury could decline this case. One of the reasons was the fact that she had regretted this relationship, and she had buyer's remorse as a result of the relationship that she had with this young man. That is something that I think when someone decides to make a case public, the public has to understand why."
Bennet: "Look, I have a lot of sympathy in this case. He just used the language again, buyer's remorse. And as the father of three little girls, I just think that's the wrong way to talk about this kind of set of circumstances, especially when your a prosecutor."
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES THEY WOULD HAVE OPPOSED
Buck: "I would have voted against Justice Sotomayor and I would've voted against Justice Kagen for two."
Bennet: "I probably would've voted against Justice Thomas and I've been disappointed by what Justice Roberts has done.
ON WHAT THEY HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THEIR POLITICAL CAREERS AND PERSONAL LIVES
Buck: "In my political career, I'd like to see a Constitutional balanced budget amendment, and in my life, I'd like to — play more golf and — and get a decent handicap."
Bennet: "I hope to be able to accomplish a set of policies that make — create more opportunity, not less, for our kids and our grandkids. Outside of politics, I hope to raise my three little girls to be productive and happy citizens."
