Political Quotes

“Madam President, today I rise to pay tribute to Barbara A. O'Malley, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, dedicated public servant, and a veritable institution here in the U.S. Senate. She passed away last month at the age of 93. Barbara Ann Suelzer, the daughter of Joseph and Martha Dix Suelzer, was born in 1928 and raised in Fort Wayne, IN. As a young woman, she was determined to learn how to fly. She obtained her pilot's license when she was 18, using $100 she received for graduating from high school to pay for the lessons, and later joined the Civil Air Patrol. She was also passionate about politics and especially about being a proud Democrat. She went to Washington to work for her local Congressman and met her future husband, Thomas Martin O'Malley, at the Young Democrats headquarters; they were married in 1954. Over the next 30 years, Barbara O'Malley raised six children--one of whom, Martin J. O'Malley, became Governor of Maryland. She was a devoted mother, grandmother to 15 grandchildren, and great-grandmother to 8 great-grandchildren. In 1986, with her children grown, Barbara O'Malley returned to Capitol Hill to work as a receptionist for another Barbara--Barbara Mikulski--who was elected to the Senate that year. She was ecstatic to work for a female Senator. At the time, there were just two female Senators: Senator Mikulski and Senator Nancy Kassebaum from Kansas.…”