Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce a Congressional Joint Resolution to prevent the sale of $53 million worth of arms to the Government of Bahrain. As I witness the series of extraordinary events that are sweeping across the Arab world, I am reminded of our own history, and America's struggle that led to the ideas that are enshrined in our Constitution. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. The Arab Spring, reminds us that these freedoms are indeed universally sought. The United States should stick up for individuals seeking such freedoms. not reward those who violently suppress such aspirations. Selling weapons to the Government of Bahrain right now is about as backwards as a teacher giving the playground bully a pair of brass knuckles instead of putting him in detention. When the rulers of Bahrain are committing human right abuses against peaceful protesters, should we really be rewarding this type of behavior? First, some context. Protests erupted in Bahrain on the heels of protests in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, as part of what is being called the Arab Spring. For many years the Shiite majority of Bahrain has been ruled by a Sunni royal family that has excluded most Shiites from political power and economic opportunity. When the people of Bahrain went to the streets to protest, the government responded with crushing force.…”