Anthony Weiner: “Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering a word of apology and concern for the many lawyers in this Chamber. This has been…”

“Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering a word of apology and concern for the many lawyers in this Chamber. This has been a very bad afternoon for all of the lawyers who have seen their reputations dragged through the mud. And those of us who are not lawyers, the seven or eight of us here, will be meeting later in a phone booth off the cloakroom to discuss how badly we feel for all of these horrible lawyers who have been flogging themselves on the floor all afternoon. I should also express my sorrows to those victims who use the courts to try to find redress. Now, most Americans are thankfully not lawyers and they are not victims. And we are grateful and thank God for that. But for the organizations who do represent victims, this has been a very bad day, whether it is the American Cancer Society that opposes this legislation because they represent victims of cancer. A bad day for them. It has been a bad day for those who advocate against water pollution like Clean Water Action. It has been a very bad day because they oppose this bill. This bill is also a setback for those who advocate for seniors who have been victims, for those who advocate on behalf of women who have been victims. All of these groups are against this bill. This has also been a very bad day for anyone in this Chamber who calls themselves a conservative.”