Political Quotes

“I think it is interesting that my colleague talks about the divisiveness of this amendment. It is not divisive at all. What is divisive is how the military is becoming a political and social experiment. I don't know how many people over there or how many other people in this Chamber served in the military, but I happened to join the Navy the week after 9/11. I can tell you this, Mr. Chair: I served with all sorts of people from all over the country of multiple colors. Do you know what, Mr. Chair? The people whom I served with were there not because of what race they were. They were there because they passed the standards. They were there because they were the best of the best. Do you know what, Mr. Chair? That made me feel really safe when we were going into the most dangerous parts of the world. That is what we need to continue. We need to have a military that continues to be the strongest military in the world because of standards and because the people whom we have there are the best of the best. The military was never intended to be inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards. Diversity can be a great thing, but that should not be our focus. I can tell you right now that you can keep playing around with these games of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but there are some real threats out there, and if we keep messing around and keep lowering our standards, it is not going to be good. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.…”