Political Quotes

“I retired in 2023 after serving southwest Michigan for 36 years. Yesterday, I gave the commencement speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and I reflected somewhat on my career in the body, reflecting the strong bipartisan actions that I undertook from my first day of office. You see, I learned a lot from my years in the Reagan White House, working with a very popular President who, guess what, had an amazing run leading our country through some very difficult times, and he did it with bipartisan support. He won 49 States when he ran for reelection in 1984. Yes, he worked across the aisle, and for the most part with a Democratic Congress. I took a page from his success, and with very few exceptions worked with the Republicans and Democrats on the many issues of the day with very few regrets. Today, we have so many issues that need this body's attention. The laundry list is long, and time is short. However, the challenge that I gave to the students yesterday and to this body today is pretty simple as we pass the torch to the next generation: We need leaders for today and tomorrow. This is not the time to stand by. It is the time, in fact, to stand up.”