Political Quotes

“I want to say a few words about family values. ``Family values'' is an expression that has been used for many years by my Republican colleagues. Generally speaking, what they mean by ``family values'' is opposition to a woman's right to choose, opposition to contraception, opposition to gay rights. I happen to strongly disagree with many of my Republican colleagues on those issues. Let me take the opportunity to briefly give a somewhat different perspective on family values--on real family values, on the values that really matter to millions of families in this country. When a mother gives birth to a baby and is unable to spend time with that newborn child during the first weeks and months of that baby's life because she does not have the money to stay home and is forced to go back to work, which is the case for millions of mothers in this country, that is not a family value. Separating a mother from a newborn baby for economic reasons is not a family value. In fact, that is an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for. When a wife is diagnosed with cancer and her husband cannot get time off of work to take care of her because he does not have any family or medical leave time or sick leave time, that is not a family value. That is an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for.…”