Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I was born during the baby boom in Butte, MT. It was a boom time for our economy. Millions of kids such as me grew up expecting the boom years to go on forever. Things weren't always easy, especially in a tough blue-collar town like Butte. But it was still easier in those days to believe that the American dream was within your grasp. Put in your time and you can earn a good living. Work hard and you can play hard. Unfortunately, I am less confident in the American dream for today's young people unless politicians can put their partisanship aside and put the interests of this country ahead of their own. I am hopeful that this Congress can once again behave like statesmen from half a century ago, when the boom times of the 1960s also produced restraint. I grew up in the morning shadow of the continental divide. Butte was surrounded by some of the best fly fishing in North America and huge areas of land known as primitive areas. Some of those blue-ribbon streams were separated by the smallest of divides from the most polluted waters in America. Some of those primitive areas shared borders with the most valuable hard rock mines and timber cuts in the country. Those same resources continue to support thousands of jobs in Montana. But the boom times of the 1960s proved how wasteful and damaging unlimited production can be. Today I applaud the lessons of restraint. This month is the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act.…”