Political Quotes

“First, I wish to thank all of my colleagues who came here today to see me offer my first speech on the floor of the Senate. It is a great group, a bipartisan group, and I believe our new class is exactly that--a group of great people who are very bipartisan and very willing to work to solve America's problems. I am proud to be part of this freshman class in the Senate. People here all think they know each other, and this is absolutely true, but sometimes it is a good reminder to tell people about from where you come. I wish to spend a little time talking about my home State because I think it speaks a great deal about how I believe, how I vote, and who I am. I grew up in a small town in North Dakota. Many may think that means 90,000 people. No, it is 90 people. My family was one-tenth the population of that small town. When I was born, my mother had four kids, and the oldest was 2 and there were no twins. By the time my parents were done having children, there were seven children in 9 years. My dad was a seasonal construction worker, and my mom was a school cook and a janitor. Think about those occupations. My mom never let anyone be bullied. The worst thing a person could do, in my mother's eyes, was to pick on someone who couldn't defend themselves. We knew that was what our role would be throughout our entire lives. This is a value my six siblings and I carry with us. From my dad we learned about community and building community.…”