Political Quotes

“I appreciate a New Jersey Hall of Fame member, the only one in the U.S. Senate--I appreciate his question. I appreciate the service of his parents, out there every day putting their heart and soul into serving the community in a dangerous job where you often see people at their worst. I said this earlier, James Baldwin said: Children are never good at listening to their elders, but they . . . never fail to imitate them. You are living up to the example your parents set in so many ways. Then you go and pull something off that really makes me jealous is you are one of the guys in the Senate that probably most married up. We are both are Jersey boys. We both grew up there in grade schools and high schools. We both know those teachers that did so much for us, that coached sports. They taught us. I am going back for a funeral for a great man in New Jersey, Ed Koehler, this weekend, who was one of the greater influences in my life in high school, and you know how much people invested themselves. I remember learning Little League from a guy that would come back from working at a gas station, a parent of another kid. I still remember his big thick hands teaching us how to hold a bat. This guy is working a job at a gas station and rushes home to teach his kid Little League and treated me--the only Black kid--like one of his own kids. Special communities, special heritage, special culture that we share--this is the Jersey culture. We got a chip on our shoulders. We are tough.…”