Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator from Florida. I am going to speak another 4 minutes. I know staff is tired and we are going to wrap up soon. I wanted to end with a comment from another small business in Metairie, LA, which is right outside of New Orleans. This is a small business owner, Patti Martinez, a lifelong resident of New Orleans, who opened her business in March 2009. I am sure she thinks about that decision every day, thinking: Maybe I should have opened a couple of years earlier or waited. But she didn't know all the derivatives on Wall Street would blow up. She opened her business in March 2009. She has three children, so the idea is she waited for 10 years--there are a lot of moms out there who have small kids at home. Frank and I have raised our children while I have been in the Senate. He works, too. We know how difficult that is. I know a lot of moms dream for a long time about what they would do if they had some time. Patti waited 10 years and then opened her business--lucky her--in March 2009. She said: I have 15 employees; they are part time. Our little business has taken off beautifully. We host birthday parties, holiday parties, and sock hops. I recently hosted a 50th birthday party. She is explaining that her business is going on. She said: Everyone, once inside our facility, loves our business and comes back again [even in these difficult times]. We ran one commercial on Channel 4 for a week and our bookings quadrupled.…”