Political Quotes

“Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: The purpose of life is . . . to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you lived and lived well. It is not the length of life, but the depth of life that matters. In that spirit, I rise today to bid farewell to a member of my team, Matt Squeri, who is one of the most useful, honorable, compassionate people I have ever worked with, and his public service has made a difference in the lives of so many, including the lives some of the most vulnerable people around the world. Not only do I want to thank him for the length of his service in the Senate, I want to thank him for the depth of his service. Matt joined my team in 2019 after several years working for our former colleague Senator Heidi Heitkamp and, before that, the Department of Defense and the Center For Strategic and International Studies. His legislative skill and his policy expertise were immediately evident. What took a little longer to emerge was his encyclopedic knowledge of college football--especially for our shared alma mater, Stanford--not to mention his love for watching boxing. For those of you who know Matt, that might sound surprising. But if you have worked with him, it makes perfect sense because, if the cause is worthwhile, if it is for democracy, if it is for justice, if it is for human rights, then Matt loves a good fight. He doesn't crash in, like a brawler. He works methodically, like a boxer.…”