Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, being from South Carolina and in politics, having people around for awhile is not an unusual circumstance. Senator Thurmond, most people recognize his name, was elected in 1954; I was born in 1955. We tend to keep people around. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) led this debate, and I know that the family is very appreciative of all of the kind words. In South Carolina we pride ourselves on being a delegation that comes together for the good of the State, and remembers our upbringing pretty well. Every now and then we fuss and fight, but I doubt if my colleagues will find any Democrat or Republican in this body that ever had a disagreement with Floyd, that they walked away from that disagreement believing anything less of the man. That is something we are losing in the country. I have been in politics since 1994. It has been a contentious time, but we have done a lot. In a delegation this small, Members get to know each other pretty well, and Floyd Spence was the nicest person I have ever met in political life. That is saying a lot coming from my State, because most of us try to be nice to each other. And the fact that so many Members came to speak of his kindness and his commitment to the men and women in the military proves that Members can be quiet and make loud statements. Floyd will not be known by the volume that he carried, but by what was in his heart.”