Political Quotes

“We come to the floor with a heavy heart and great sadness. Geraldine Ferraro, a former Member of the House of Representatives, a Congresswoman from New York who was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for Vice President, has lost her gallant and persistent fight against cancer and has passed away. I thank the leadership for offering the resolution noting the many contributions she made to America and to express condolences to her family. For we women, before 1960, Gerry was a force of nature, a powerhouse. She changed American politics. She changed the way women thought of themselves and what we believed we could accomplish. On July 11, 1984, when Walter Mondale called Gerry Ferraro and asked her to be his Vice Presidential running mate, an amazing thing happened. They took down the ``men only'' sign on the White House. For Gerry and all American women, there was no turning back, only going forward. America knows Gerry as a political phenomenon. I knew her as a dear friend and colleague. We served in the House together in the late 1970s. She left in 1984 to run for Vice President, and I left in 1986 to run for the Senate. We were among the early-bird women in the House of Representatives. And as early birds, we were not afraid to ruffle some feathers. We had some good times and passed some good legislation. It must be historically noted that when Gerry came to the House in 1979, only 16 women were there. In 1984, when she left, we had moved to 23.…”