Political Quotes

“this evening I rise before this House condemning the words spoken yesterday by former Secretary of Education William Bennett. It is truly reprehensible that as we try to heal the wounds that were laid bare following the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, that powerful elements in the Republican Party still insist on espousing racial rhetoric while trying to divide Americans based on the color of their skin. I was shocked, I was appalled that the former Secretary of Education, William Bennett, a prominent member of the Republican Party, would go on public radio and say, ``But I do know that it is true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.'' Mr. Speaker, as a proud black American who was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, I know that this is precisely the kind of insensitive, hurtful, and ignorant rhetoric that Americans have grown tired of. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bennett still has power and influence within this Republican administration; and he is representative of the ignorant, inconsiderate politics that have been displayed in this government today. And I am calling on my friends, the responsible Republicans, to rebuke Mr. Bennett for his damaging statement. Where is the indignation from the GOP, as one of their prominent members talks about aborting an entire race of Americans as a way of ridding this country of crime? How ridiculous.…”