Political Quotes

“I had the great pleasure of knowing Tom Lantos as a friend and as a mentor. I have known him for many years. I last spoke with him about 3 weeks ago, maybe 4, and he said he was going to forego treatment, that he was ready for whatever would come, that he and Annette were going to remain in Washington, that he was very content with his medical treatment at Bethesda, and he did not believe he would try anything heroic. Those of us who know, know cancer of the esophagus is devastating and unrelenting. From that point on, I began to think quite a bit about Tom Lantos. I thought back when Yahoo had the confrontation with China and did not stand up but gave in to China, and Tom stood on his feet, with amazing blue eyes and his gray hair, and said: They are moral pygmies. He called it as it was. He stood for human rights. After 30 years in the House, he became Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Regretfully, his life ended before he had much more time than a year in that position. Tom Lantos represented the district directly to the south of my city, San Francisco. He was a wonderful Representative. I watched him over the past 30 years as time went on. I watched his 18 grandchildren grow. I remember meeting them in the airport in Denver. I do not know whether Members know this; some of them were home schooled, and they went to college at the age of 14.”