Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise this afternoon to honor the lifetime contributions of Marie Ridder to Virginia and to our Nation. Marie, a distinguished journalist and one of the most passionate conservationists I have ever known, celebrated her 99th birthday just a few weeks ago. I believe her children have finally gotten her to agree to stop driving herself to every one of her many engagements. Marie Ridder began her career as a journalist by covering the reconstruction of post-World War II Europe for the Philadelphia Bulletin. Over the years, she wrote for The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and for Knight Ridder publications. Not just a writer, Marie edited Vogue, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and also Conde Nast magazines. I became close with Marie when she hosted my first political event more than 36 years ago. When everyone else was skeptical, including my own family, she believed in me. Marie is passionate about saving our landscapes and our environment. She has been the champion of the Piedmont Environmental Council for decades. She has served on the boards of the League of Conservation Voters and the Trust for Public Land. She is also a master gardener. While working in her garden high above the Potomac River, she was bitten by a copperhead a few years ago and rushed to Sibley Memorial Hospital for the antivenom. When she was struck again by a copperhead a few years later, the emergency room doctor noted that he had only treated two snake bites in his life; both were Marie.…”