Political Quotes

“we receive a lot of letters in our offices, and primarily we pay attention to those that come from our own home States. People expect me as their Senator to read the letter and to at least consider their point of view. Some of these letters are kind of routine, almost form letters. Some emails come in at a volume we can hardly keep up with. In Illinois, I receive 10,000 emails a week--a week. That is a lot. There was a time when I was a college kid working here on Capitol Hill, and the Senator from Illinois signed every letter that went out of the office--sat at the desk and signed the letters. It is inconceivable now that we can respond to all the letters each day. We try to keep up with them, we try to be timely, and we pick those letters out that are personal and important enough that the staff thinks I should read them personally, and I make a point of doing it. Sometimes the stories they tell give me an insight into the issues we debate on the floor of the Senate. Most of the time the American people look at us puzzled, asking: What are they talking about, and why does this mean anything to my family and my future? Let me give you an example of a couple of letters I received that relate to a vote we are going to take this week. The first letter was from Richard and Mary Laidman, from Naperville, IL, which is west of the city of Chicago, in DuPage County.…”