Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. This is a sad day for America. It's a sad day for the Congress. It's a sad day for our African American brothers and sisters who have lost a real leader and an extraordinary friend. I first met Donald Payne when I was in my mid-twenties. He was active in the Young Democrats in New Jersey, and I was active in the Young Democrats in Maryland, and that's how we first met. Don was about 6 years older than I am. When you're in your middle twenties, somebody in their thirties is really old. But we all saw him as a very serious individual, serious about his activities, serious about his objectives, serious about the people. He had an extraordinarily productive career. As the leader has mentioned and as I know other speakers before me have mentioned, he was a teacher. He was a teacher in the tradition of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass, a fellow Marylander, said that it is easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men. Donald Payne was focused on that concept as a teacher. Then throughout his life, he was focused on making sure that America kept the faith with people around the world; that its values, that its hopes, its visions for ourselves were also our hopes and visions for others. Donald Payne, before he came to the Congress, I think had traveled to more countries than perhaps any other Member of Congress. He cared about people, and particularly people who lived in Africa.…”