Political Quotes

“I rise today to pay tribute to a public servant, a social worker, and a tenacious advocate for vulnerable Americans. I rise today to honor a trailblazer and a mentor for me and countless others. I rise today to honor an outstanding U.S. Senator from Maryland and the dean of the Senate women, my friend Barbara Mikulski. I am privileged to have represented California in this body for almost 20 years. When I first ran for the Senate, back in 1992, I received a call from Barbara Mikulski, personally urging me on and reaching out to provide encouragement. I have relied on her advice, her friendship, and the Mikulski brand of candor ever since. As a matter of fact, one of my fondest evenings was a three-onion martini right down the street. It is hard to believe, but when Senator Mikulski took office in 1987, there was only one other woman in this body, Senator Nancy Kassebaum, later Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the great Republican Senator from Kansas. Increasing the number of women in the Senate has been painfully slow. In 1991, the ranks of women in this body rose to three, then later to seven after the 1992 election. Today we have 17 women in this body and 76 in the House. As Senator Mikulski reflected in the Washington Post last year: Women were so rare even holding statewide political office [back then] . . . I was greeted with a lot of skepticism from my male colleagues. Was I going to go the celebrity route or the Senate route? I had to work very hard. And she has.…”