Political Quotes

“He enumerated a number of States that still do not have it. If you go back, as I have done, and studied the .08 law, it was vigorously resisted here on the floor of the Senate repeatedly for the very same reasons you have given. But once it was passed and it became mandatory, suddenly the States joined up. There are now 49 States that have the .08 law as a direct consequence of the Congress having given the impetus for those additional States that were hanging out, all of which you just enumerated; in this instance they joined. Lastly, I think it is also important in the debate to mention your own personal experience of an individual who was concerned that it would begin to have cars pulled over by virtue of race. But one of the most interesting individuals who attended a press conference the day before yesterday was a black legislator from Arkansas who is chairman of the National Conference of Black State Legislators. He brought with him that organization's endorsement of this bill. So I do believe there is some legitimate difference within one minority with respect to the question of how this law will be felt. Five States had 21 minimum drinking age, when President Reagan, your idol and mine, signed that into law. So I am just telling you, .08 is an example of how Congress finally acted, and then all the States, save one--I won't mention the one; somebody can do their homework; it is rather curious which State it is--have accepted the .08 law.”