Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is facing a runoff election in December in which she might lose her Senate seat to Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
To avoid that outcome, Landrieu spent the week pushing for Senate approval of the Keystone pipeline. Democrats had opposed a clean vote on the project for years, but reversed course and agreed to give it a try in the hopes it might help Landrieu keep her seat.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) would like you to know she is behind the Senate push to pass the Keystone pipeline. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
She'll need it. A poll released on Thursday showed she is behind by 16 points.
To remedy that, Landrieu went all out on the Senate floor Wednesday and Thursday to make it clear that she was behind the big push on Keystone. Below are the top ten most shameless quotes from Landrieu over the last two days:
10: Two p.m. is 'on time' in the Senate
"I came down to the floor yesterday just thinking: Well, maybe I will just kick it up a little bit, and sure enough, I did. It got kicked up pretty high. I was actually here around 2 o'clock because I have been around here enough to know that if you show up early you actually might get something done. Don't show up late; don't be late. My dad taught me to be on time, so I was here at 2 o'clock."
9: Did I mention I was here at 2 p.m. to bring up Keystone?
"I am very happy that I came to the floor at 2:00 p.m. to get the ball rolling…"
8: I've been working forever on Keystone
"I want the record to reflect my remarks. The Senator from Louisiana has absolutely no objection to the House of Representatives taking the exact language from my bill with Senator Hoeven and passing it. Why would I object? I have been working on this for 4 years. Why would I object to that? The record should reflect that."
7: I heard the message of the election, so let's get to work on Keystone
"I would like to take a few minutes to make it perfectly clear that I think one of the first steps we need to take to assure voters that we have heard the message, and that I myself have heard that message, is to get our work done on the floor of the Senate.
6: It doesn't have to be about me, but I have done excellent work
"I didn't come here to see my name in lights. I came here to create jobs for my state and for this country, and I believe I have done an excellent job in the 18 years I have been here, through very difficult circumstances, and will continue should the voters want me to."
5: I can work with both parties
"The record expresses that I am a centrist. As I have said a thousand times on the floor and 10,000 times at home, I have been part of the coalition that has helped make this place work when it did, and I have been part of the coalition that has tried to make this place work even when it didn't. The record is clear."
4: I am a leader
"What a difference 24 hours can make when a senator is willing to stand up and speak and lead. My leadership didn't give me permission to do this. Nobody asked me to do it."
3: Now we can do our jobs, thanks to me
"Let us vote and let us stop criticizing everyone else, and do our job, and I am proud that I helped to get us moving in that direction."
2: I am a spark plug
"I am so pleased to have been one of the spark plugs that helped to get us moving not in the next Congress but in this lameduck session of this Congress."
1: Whose name was first in a letter to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for Keystone approval? Mine? Really?
"I am going to read those names because I think it is important. My name is first, amazingly. I am very proud of that, didn't even remember it. Mary Landrieu."
