Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear friend and a true patriot, Ambassador Armando Valladares, for being awarded the Canterbury Medal, the highest honor bestowed by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Armando Valladares spent 22 years in Castro's gulags. He endured unconscionable torture while in prison. Why, Mr. Speaker? Because Armando refused to put a sign on his desk saying that he supported Fidel Castro. No matter how much abuse he endured in prison, Armando fought his jailers every day. He protected his conscience from the constant and ongoing attacks of the brutal Communist dictatorship. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan installed Armando Valladares as our U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Earlier this year, Ambassador Valladares wrote about President Obama's misguided and dangerous overtures to the Castro regime--one- sided negotiations. In a recent op-ed that Armando Valladares wrote, he said: ``In agreeing to meet with Raul Castro, Obama rewards a regime that rules with brutal force and systematically violates human rights.'' Ambassador Valladares, thank you for your courage. Thank you for your principled stand against the Castro regime. Godspeed, my friend. Commemorating Deering Estate's 100th Anniversary”