Political Quotes

“we gather on the floor of the Senate at an unusually early hour. In fact, the Senate has been in session all night. The question before us is the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education. It is possibly the most controversial nomination made by our new President Trump. This is an office which doesn't usually attract this kind of controversy. Former Secretaries of Education have included Arne Duncan, who ran the Chicago Public Schools system. He was the first to be appointed in the first term of President Obama. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee--who is a friend of mine and whom I have served with-- before his service in the Senate, was also the Secretary of Education. The choice is usually one that is bipartisan and largely supported by not only teachers but parents and administrators and education officials from across the United States. In this case, though, we have in Betsy DeVos of Michigan a person of some controversy. Last Saturday, I spoke to the Illinois Education Association, a group of about 150 teachers who had gathered in Springfield, IL. They have been my friends for many years. Cinda Klickna, who is the President of the organization--we have a relationship that goes back to the days when she was a classroom teacher--she now has risen through the ranks and heads up one of the major teachers organizations in our State. Cinda is a true teacher at heart and really cares for students, cares for schools. She has devoted her life to it.…”