Michael Bennet

Senator Michael Bennet, the Democrat and junior senator from Colorado, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD today that he was talking about "the filibuster" when his conversation on the Senate floor was inadvertantly picked up by a C-SPAN microphone.

Bennet, who was in the presiding officer's chair for a vote this morning, said the following: “There's nothing about -- because it's all rigged. I mean, the whole conversation is rigged. The fact that we don’t get to a discussion before the break about what we’re going to do in the lame duck -- is just rigged. This stuff’s rigged.”

After the Senate Democrats' policy luncheon today at the Capitol, Bennet told THE WEEKLY STANDARD he was "talking about the filibuster," though his comments appeared to apply particularly to the lame duck session. 

"I wasn’t angry," Bennet said. "I was talking about the filibuster and the way this place operates. It’s nothing I haven’t said a million times.” Asked to clarify what he meant by "the filibuster," Bennet declined to reply and closed the elevator door.

Another Democrat to abandon statewide office: