Charles Rangel: “I was moved by their concern for these African Americans. I thought it was the beginning of the new Republican civil…”

“I was moved by their concern for these African Americans. I thought it was the beginning of the new Republican civil rights movement. But I told them that I had shared my concerns about this with some of these people, and they agreed with me that only in a country as great as America can someone be born in poverty and be able to achieve the great economic success that they have been able to achieve. But in doing this, we also had an obligation to America, to those people who are less fortunate. Whether they be black or white or Jew or gentile, there has to be a basic understanding that we have to secure for ourselves a sound economic system that allows all of the people to hope and aspire to achieve economically, a sound public school system that gives us the tools to be able to negotiate one's way through success; a Nation that would not only allow us to move forward, but have a concern about the Social Security System, the Medicare System, to be concerned about one whose parents who are dependent on Social Security and dependent on prescription drugs. In other words, yes, we have to be prepared to give something back to this great Republic that has given so much to so few.”