Political Quotes

“as always, I appreciate the honor and the privilege of addressing the Speaker and, in doing so, addressing this Chamber as well. I know that the voices that come to this floor to make these addresses echo across America, as our Founding Fathers envisioned. Before I pick up the issue I came to this floor to speak about, I would say a few words in support of the remarks made by my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), with regard to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes we lose perspective of that time in America, back in the 1960s, when there was the institutionalization of segregation, particularly in the South. Those were glorious days when there were civil rights marches for civil rights reasons and the rights that everyone has in this country that are guaranteed by our Constitution. These are individual rights. They are rights without regard to what group you might think you are aligned with. They belong to men and they belong to women, and they are rights that preclude group rights. They are individual rights, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but more specifically freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom to keep and bear arms, and the right to property ownership, which has been eroded by the Kelo decision here in these last few months, I might add for your benefit particularly, Mr. Speaker, and for mine.…”