Political Quotes

“I believe it is very clear that the tobacco industry and their allies will pull out all of the stops to kill legislation that protects our children. It is very clear how the tobacco industry hopes to bring about this legislation's demise. The tobacco lobbyists want to produce a death by distraction. It is very easy to see why the tobacco lobbyists are pursuing this strategy. They cannot derail our cause of protecting children from starting to smoke on the merits. The case for passing legislation to protect our kids is too powerful. It is too strong. It is too moral. So the tobacco lobby hopes to throw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into this debate, hope that it doesn't stink the place up too much, and then hope that the American people lose sight of what this is really all about. But the fact is that the American people get it. They know that this is about protecting children. They are not going to fall for this strategy of trying to produce enough distraction that somehow the Senate will have to move on to other issues or somehow some other question will have to be addressed on this floor. I believe that allowing this bill to die by all of these distractions would be one of the most shocking abdications of our public responsibilities that has been seen in years.”