Political Quotes

“I will speak for only a few moments, and then the distinguished junior Senator from Alaska will close this part of the debate. The senior Senator from Alaska mentioned that only 38 of us have actually served with Senator Ted Stevens. Of that group, I am the junior-most in rank, and I know that because I was the junior-most Member of this body more than a decade ago when I rose on this floor to pay tribute to this great Senator from Alaska, Ted Stevens, on his last day in office. I did not speak from my desk, as you can imagine. I didn't have a very prominent desk at the time. I chose instead to stand as close as I could directly behind Senator Stevens. I suppose I wanted to have his back, at least figuratively, for one last time. And I wanted to make sure I could see his wife Catherine in the gallery, as I may have done just a few moments ago, because she meant so much and still means so much to all of us and to my wife Gayle and me. What we learned from Ted Stevens guides our work today. I was honored to serve alongside him for just a few years. I was anguished when he had to leave us in 2008, and together with all of us, I mourned his death in 2010. Seniority is earned when the people of our States see fit to return us time and again to Washington to do their business. Respect is earned when we engage in the long fight to fulfill our oaths and to support and defend the Constitution. Ted Stevens earned both seniority and respect for 40 years.…”