Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank our colleague, the Senator from Oklahoma, for telling that marvelous story and offering some hope--not just talking about it but doing something about it as well. Of course, it reminds me a little bit of our recent trip to Charleston and the amazing thing that happened there after a terrible tragedy when a young man opened a gun in a church and a killed a number of innocent people who were there worshipping and who had taken him in. Just as the story told by the Senator from Oklahoma, one of the things we found when we visited Charleston later, as the Presiding Officer will recall, was the power of forgiveness. This changed the entire conversation when people in great pain, suffering an unspeakable tragedy, had the faith and the fortitude to stand and say: You hurt me, but I forgive you. It was very, very remarkable. It reminded me of that experience. What Senator Lankford was telling us about Tulsa--the Tulsa race riot-- reminded me of the similar lesson and example. There is perhaps nothing more powerful than a good example, and we saw that rising out of great hurt and great hate. I thank the Senator for telling the story and reminding me of that recent experience in Charleston. Mr. President, sometimes when I go home to Texas, my constituents tell me: I don't know how you stand it.…”