Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for his leadership on this very important issue. I have made the statement often when I ran for this office that I ran to change not only the course for this country, but the culture of Washington. It is my strong belief that we cannot change the course in any meaningful way without changing the culture. So I want to, again, thank my colleague, Mike Gallagher, for his leadership in rallying the freshman class, both Republicans and Democrats, on an issue that I think, because of this unique time in the history of our country, a time that I think calls for bold action, he is seizing the opportunity and heeding that call on behalf of our freshman class. And so I am deeply grateful for his courageous leadership. Our country, the greatest experiment in liberty and democracy, was conceived by men of great principle; men who were committed to leading, to governing; and, yes--and I know this isn't popular--to compromising; making difficult decisions and putting the Nation's interest above their own personal interest. They were also men who never envisioned a lifelong career in politics. In 1819, only 1 percent of Representatives had served over 16 years. Now, 20 percent of Representatives have served over 16 years. The current scenario where Members of Congress serve for 15, 20, even 30 years, is inconsistent with the Founders' view of citizen statesmen.…”