Political Quotes

“several days ago, I withdrew an amendment on an independent ethics commission, as the leadership discussed that imminently there would be something forthcoming. I grew up in the military, and I bring this point up, from the Vietnam days until last year, and we were used to having investigations, outside investigations, whether with Milai or whether it was recently the USS Cole. But during that entire period of time, 30-plus years, I learned that the best leadership is leadership by example; that type of leadership where others want to emulate your standards. My question, therefore, is, how can this Congress look across the Potomac River at the Pentagon, to those men and women who have served 30 to 40 years in the cloth of this Nation and say, you cannot work for any company, including General Motors, if they have more than $50 million of contracts, and then not do the same to ourselves where Congressmen can walk out this door today and work for a lobbying firm, proscribed from certain activities, but work and get compensation. If not us, why them? Why them, if not us? I will be disappointed if this Congress passes this. I can support this amendment if it is for us, and I would like to see it for us. I know leadership, however, and this is not leadership.”