Political Quotes

“I came to Congress, and some very creative people came to see me. We get a lot of visits up here in Congress. Folks from all over the country come to see us. I got a knock at the door one day, and there were some songwriters. They were very talented men and women. What do they do? They write and perform songs. I was just so impressed. These are creative entrepreneurs, and some of the stories are outstanding. One gentleman came to see me, and he said: One day years ago, a long time ago, I wrote a song and went in and saw the great Johnny Cash. He liked my song, and he played my song. It went well, and that was his claim to fame. Another gentleman came in, and he mentioned a song. He said: I wrote that and played it for a fellow by the name of Frank Sinatra. Now, I remember those two great performers, but these were the folks who wrote the songs. This songwriter actually got to go and hear that recorded. Sinatra invited him, and it became a classic. I was surprised to learn, as my colleague from Georgia alluded to, of the Songwriter Equity Act, but there is some fundamental unfairness involved in the process, and I wanted to talk about that. Before I came to this great House, I practiced law for about 24 years in the city of Chattanooga. I loved practicing law, but when I was not practicing law, every once in a while, the judge wanted to go fishing, and he would let me preside as special judge. I really liked presiding over cases.…”