Political Quotes

“now on a related subject, part of that effort, though modest, is installing committed, experienced, compassionate civil rights leaders in positions of power in the Justice Department, our Nation's top law enforcement Agency. It just so happens that, today, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Ms. Vanita Gupta to be the next Associate Attorney General. Not only is Ms. Gupta the first woman of color to ever be nominated to the position, she is the first civil rights attorney ever to be nominated to the position--the third ranking official in the Justice Department. That is shocking, really. We never have had a former civil rights attorney serving in such a position of prominence at the Justice Department. In that sense alone, Ms. Gupta would bring a long overdue perspective to our Federal law enforcement Agency. Just to give you a sense of Ms. Gupta's commitment to civil rights and racial equity, in her very first case after law school, she won the release of several African Americans who had been wrongly convicted by all-White juries in Texas. Her clients later won a full pardon from Texas Governor Rick Perry. At a time when our country needs to make strides against racial injustice, how can we not install one of the Nation's top civil rights lawyers at the Department of Justice? How can our colleagues not rise to the occasion--our colleagues on the other side of the aisle--and vote for her?…”