Just before everyone's attention shifted from the Republican government shutdown to the tragic incident with Miriam Carey, Elizabeth Warren delivered this speech on the Senate floor. She is so great at speaking truth with class and passion.

My favorite part comes at about 3 minutes in when she reminds us that government matters:

But time and time again throughout our history we have re-affirmed the simple truth that government matters.

So Mr. President, to those who have forced us to the brink, to those who rail against a make-believe government, to those who seem to rejoice in anarchy, to those who salivate at the chance to shut down our government because of their extremist views have left them disconnected from the experiences of the American people, it is time to hear a simple message.

You can do your best to make government look like it doesn't work when you stop it from working.

You can do your best to make government look paralyzed when you paralyze it.

You can do your best to make government look incompetent and ineffective through your incompetence, and ineffective through your ineffectiveness.

But sooner or later, the government will reopen. Because this is a democracy, and this democracy has already rejected your views.

We have already chosen to do these things together because we all know that we are stronger when we come together.

When this government reopens, when our markets are safe again, when our scientists can return to their research, when our small businesses can borrow, when our veterans can be respected for their service, when our flu shots resume and our Head Start programs get back to teaching our kids, we will have rejected your views once again.

We are not a country of anarchists. We are not a country of pessimists and ideologues whose motto is "I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own. We are not a country that tolerates dangerous drugs, unsafe meat, dirty air or toxic mortgages.

We are not that nation. We have never been that nation and we will never be that nation.

Amen, Senator Warren.

Full transcript here.