Political Quotes

“in 1838, John Quincy Adams, as a former President, came to this floor as a Member of the House of Representatives. In those days the conservatives in this Congress passed a rule banning the discussion of slavery on the House floor. Congressman John Quincy Adams, former President Adams, was outraged by that rule; but what he did was come to the House floor and a couple of times every week read letters from his constituents opposing slavery, demanding that slavery be abolished in the United States. Today, 160-some years later, many of us in this Chamber feel an outrage towards what is happening with Iraq and especially that the leaders in this Chamber are unwilling to debate many of the issues around Iraq, how they propose to spend $87 billion, asking the President for his plans, wanting the President's contributors and contractors in Iraq who are literally receiving hundreds of millions of dollars a week to account for those dollars. I thought tonight, in the tradition of John Quincy Adams, I would read letters from constituents of mine around the State who are expressing their views about Iraq.”