Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding and for leading this Special Order to honor Jay Pierson. I'm sitting here, I'm glad I've had an opportunity to listen to the other Members talk about Jay Pierson's service to this Congress and this country, and I'm wondering how do I make sense of this? Thirty-four years. Well, Mr. Speaker, 34 years ago, there was a lady that opened up a convenience store in my little old town of Kiron, Iowa. She began accumulating knowledge about the community and what went on around that community. And if you want to know who ran for mayor in '78 or when the place burned down down the street or why there isn't a parking meter or a stoplight in the town, you can ask her, and she'll know. If you want to know contemporary actions, who's working in what field, she'll know. It's the same thing here. There's one person that knows the organism of the House of Representatives, that understands it intuitively, that knows the history, has lived it, and it's one thing to catch up with things intellectually, Mr. Speaker, but it's another thing to feel it in your instinct and in your bones and in your guts. Jay Pierson's got all of that. On top of that, he's had to listen to me as much as anybody over the last 10 years, and for that I do come to the floor to apologize, Jay, for putting you through that long, grueling night all the way up to midnight night after night after night. But I couldn't have done that without your excellent help. Mr.…”