Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. ``Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. ``We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. ``We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth.'' Lincoln, of course, was talking about the state of a Nation in peril on December 1 in his address to Congress in 1862. But if this Nation had not the leadership of that magnitude, who knows where we would be today. They faced terrible consequences and yet still had the extraordinary foresight and fortitude to charge ahead. Today, we too face consequences. We face consequences of international economic impact, environmental and ecological destruction. We consider this week a debt limit crisis that has brought out the best and worst amongst men and women I respect both here on this House floor and on the other side of this Capitol building and on cable news stations across the country. We are also considering here in this House an Interior and Environment appropriations bill that simply says to our children: You clean it up; we don't care to bear the burden. This bill does irreparable damage to programs that keep our air clean, our water drinkable, and that protect our national and natural heritage.…”