Political Quotes

“I want to begin my remarks by joining Senator McConnell in expressing my condolences to our friend and colleague Senator Dianne Feinstein on the passing of her husband and partner Richard Blum. Dick Blum was a trailblazer in the Senate family, one of the first men to join the Senate Spouses club. He was proud of Senator Feinstein's historic career in public service. He was a success at business and invested his wealth in easing human suffering--from the streets of San Francisco to some of the poorest corners of the globe. He founded the American Himalayan Foundation to assist the people of the Himalayas. He also founded the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley to help teach students about microlending, social enterprise, and other ways for poor people in developing nations to lift themselves from poverty. A story in today's Los Angeles Times contained an anecdote that captured well Dick's good humor and generous spirit. He said that in all the conversations he had over the years with Buddhist friends in the Himalayas, no one had ever convinced him of the likelihood of reincarnation. Maybe that is why he worked so hard to achieve so much good in this one lifetime he was given. He did more to ease human suffering than others might do in a dozen lifetime opportunities. To Senator Dianne Feinstein, their beloved daughters and grandchildren, and all who knew and loved him, Loretta and I offer our condolences.…”