Richard Gephardt: “I have tried to put myself in the shoes of an average citizen, and I think it is gobbledygook, and I do not understand…”

“I have tried to put myself in the shoes of an average citizen, and I think it is gobbledygook, and I do not understand what they are talking about. But that really is the magic of this place. As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) said earlier, I am fond of saying that politics is a substitute for violence. It really is. And the only thing that allows us to resolve our differences peacefully is that we have a process. We have rules. We have laws. We have parliamentary procedure. And that process is what makes this place work and makes democracy work in our country. The keeper of those rules has been our subject today, Charles Johnson. He has done it, in my view, as well as it can be done. He has always been fair. No one questions his judgment or his enunciation of the precedents of the House, whether it comes down in your favor or it does not. He is a professional. No one ever doubts his knowledge or his dedication to knowledge about the process.”