Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, that was a hard act to follow. I was transported to the 1960s. I was always a fan of Merle Haggard, but not necessarily his political philosophy. I don't believe the proposition that if you disagree with the policies of your government, you have to leave the country. I actually believe the beauty of America is that you get to disagree, you get to respectfully dissent, and you still get to live here as a full-fledged American. I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of this bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service in Bakersfield, California, as the Merle Haggard Post Office Building. Merle was born in Bakersfield in 1937, and, as my friend from Florida said, took a circuitous route to becoming ``the poet of the common man,'' as he was known. As a teenager, he often found himself in reform school after committing petty crimes. By the age of 20, he was serving time, as Mr. DeSantis said, in a California prison. It was that experience, however, that helped him turn his life around. In prison, Merle Haggard rediscovered his love of music, and later put his talent to work on the Bakersfield club circuit. By singing about poverty, the struggles of the ordinary man and woman, and how music saved him during dark times, he captured the imagination and the attention of the entire country, and had 38 number one country hits.…”