On the recordJuly 17, 2014
I was. And I recall, when Phil Hoff came out against the war in Vietnam--and he was in the minority on that--no member of the Vermont congressional delegation had voted against the war in Vietnam. They voted for all the increases in it. He was in some ways a lonely voice, but he did come out against it. It angered Lyndon Johnson, who was then President. But then he supported Robert Kennedy, as did I. I remember the two of us meeting Senator Edward Kennedy--one of the Presiding Officer's predecessors--on the runway at the airport in Burlington, VT. He and Governor Hoff and myself and others were going to speak to a group on behalf of Robert Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy. I remember the look of sorrow on Governor Hoff's face as he stood as one of the honorary pallbearers at Robert Kennedy's funeral. But even after that, he continued to push to make Vermont a better State. I think--and I realize we have others waiting for the floor--but I just want to say again that Vermont is a wonderful State. It is a beautiful State. It is a progressive State. As Senator Sanders and I have both said, it would not be what it is today were it not for Phil Hoff. We have all tried to follow in those footsteps, but he lit the way. That sometimes is an overused expression, but in this case I think every historian would agree with us.
