Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I am proud to have authored this measure with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), my colleague and the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The measure before us today condemns the assassination of Boris Nemtsov. Nemtsov was a brave advocate for democracy in Russia, calling for free elections and an end to the massive corruption at the Kremlin. I remember when he visited here and I had him in my office. We took pictures. Just the other day, we were looking at them. He certainly was a champion of freedom in Russia and, for it, met his demise. The fact that he was calling for free elections and an end to the massive corruption in the Kremlin put him right in Vladimir Putin's crosshairs. Now, he joins a long list of brave journalists, human rights activists, and political opponents murdered by Putin's henchmen in their quest to silence all criticism of the Kremlin and stamp out any perceived threat to Putin's authoritarian regime. When I met Boris Nemtsov here in Washington in my office, he talked about his vision for Russia, free from Putin's grip on power, with open, fair elections, independent media, and a strong civil society. In the words of John McCain, Boris Nemtsov ``would not be oppressed by unjust laws or violence or by violence and fear . . .…”