Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank the chairman for his work. I have been here a long time. This is my 40th year in the Congress of the United States. I came at the same time Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States. It was clearly a time of difference in the House and in the country between Republicans and Democrats, but it was also a time when, frankly, the John Katkos of the Congress were in the majority in the Republican Party. And by that I mean, Mr. Speaker, people who wanted to work together to get results that, while not perfect for either side, were good for the country. So while I thank Mr. Thompson for the hard work he has done, I thank Mr. Katko as well for doing what Americans expect us to do, to come together, looking at a challenge to our country and to our people, coming to a decision to resolve those challenges and those problems. That is what Mr. Thompson and Mr. Katko have done. Indeed, I think this is, in some ways, the best of days and, in some ways, the worst of days because we have seen today two Republican leaders turn what ought to be a nonpolitical issue, an issue with reference to a unique event, not just a demonstration that has occurred. I grew up in the 1960s. Whether it was civil rights or Vietnam, there were a lot of demonstrations. But the Capitol of the United States was not attacked. It was not invaded. It was not breached.…”