Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. My grandparents were from Indiana, and the gentlewoman from Indiana represents her State well, and I have appreciated our relationship. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give my farewell speech to this House, and I am going to surprise some people by saying that I rise today with hope and optimism. I know that is unusual because there are people on both sides of the House that want to say this country is in a bad place and heading in the wrong direction. I believe that view ignores two very important things. One is our history, and the other is what I hear the people of America telling us. Several years ago, a number of us from the Senate and the House, both parties, had the privilege of spending an evening at the Library of Congress with the noted American history writer David McCullough. At the end of the evening, the moderator turned to him and said: What parting words do you have for these Members of Congress? And he said: I think if the people of America knew their history better, they would be more hopeful, they would be more optimistic. I have been listening to the people of my district for the last 7 years. When I was listening to them, I had no preconceived notions about what they thought, and, buddy, they told me. And the American people, through elections, have told us, too. And the great thing about our elections is there are no filters.…”