state-senators-of-the-united-states

"We shall meet, but we shall miss him, There will be one vacant chair; We shall linger to caress him, When we breathe our ev'ning pray'r."

"At VMI integrity subconsciously becomes a way of life."

"VMI has a long and enviable tradition, of which the intrepid charge of its cadets at New Market is one of the most glorious chapters. Although only about 15 percent of the graduates pursue military careers, the mass of them have served well- many with great distinction- as citizen-soldiers in every conflict in which their country has been involved, beginning with the Mexican War. Foremost among them was General of the Army George C. Marshall, the chief of staff throughout World War II, who late served in two cabinet posts and became the one military figure ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Each of the diverse curricula in engineering, the physical sciences, and the liberal arts has prepared its cadet-students well to follow civil callings in peacetime, which most alumni do."

"There are gentle men in whom gentility finally destroys whatever of iron there was in their souls. There are iron men in whom the iron corroded whatever gentility they possessed. There are men—not many to be sure—in whom the gentility and the iron were preserved in proper balance, each of these attributes to be summoned up as the occasion requires. Such a man was Harry Byrd."

"Nevertheless, there was merit in the manner of the man and the portent of his prognostications. His major contribution as a senator was his repeated warning about the dangers of excessive federal spending, a warning that had more substance twenty years after his retirement than it did during the prosperous post-World War II years. There are limits to what government can accomplish, dangers in long-term unbalanced budgets, and liabilities in dependence on the welfare state- for rich and poor alike. Byrd's flaw was that he did not translate these forebodings into imaginative solutions to the problems of modern society but instead fell back on old clichés and a narrow individualistic ethic that was no longer serviceable, a sterile legacy to show for thirty years of service. Harry Byrd's retirement was short-lived. A few months later, as his condition deteriorated, he was diagnosed as having an inoperable brain tumor. He spent his remaining days at Rosemont, mostly bedridden, but not without having one last small impact on Virginia politics. On the eve of his son's reelection bid, he lapsed into a coma, and out of respect for him, the campaign was halted. Days later, Harry Jr. won a narrow victory over Armistead Boothe in the Democratic primary, but Willis Robertson and Howard Smith went down to defeat. The Old Guard had passed. On October 20, 1966, Harry Flood Byrd died in the same room where his wife had died two years earlier. He was buried next to her on a hill overlooking Winchester and the Valley and mountains he loved so much."

"The assassination of Caldwell is symbolic of the reign of terror that defeated Reconstruction, democracy, Black political participation, as well as human rights in Mississippi and the South in the mid-. Violence was central to the establishment of White domination, not only to seize power for White supremacists but also to instill fear and intimidation in the Black population and their allies. In a state with a Black majority, to secure White supremacy and to maintain Black labor, particularly rural workers, as a servile labor force, it was necessary to institutionalize fear and intimidation. Men like Caldwell represented hope for Black progress and resistance to White domination."

"Today, in light of the recent controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh's attack on Sandra Fluke, [I have] introduced a bill to ensure that the Pentagon avoids supporting programs that exhibit values contrary to the basic values of the Armed Forces and the United States."

"Election integrity is important to me. With what I believe to be relatively small changes, we can make our elections more secure, which should install confidence that everybody's vote matters, because it does."

"I ... encourage others across the state to pay attention. Caring for the health needs of rural Minnesotans must remain a top priority for our health care institutions. I for one will remain vigilant in my work to ensure the people of Southern Minnesota continue to have access to top quality health care."

"I think that what I believe in, and it’s what our founders believed in, is that our rights come from God, not from the government."

"My mom always told me that the Good Lord gives to those who will re-invest in the community."

"Every dollar we return to the people of Kansas is a dollar that goes back into their local communities, not only have we returned a record amount of money to Kansans, but we have made the process more user friendly and we have improved the service offered to Kansans."

"The government doesn't create jobs. There are things the government can do to create an environment for jobs. The biggest thing is keeping people away from business is uncertainty that they feel. They don't know what taxes are going to be or what regulatory burden will be there"

"State government works much better than probably most average Missourians think it does. The biggest thing that I realized — and it took me awhile to get this — was that the ability to change or to craft policy differences in this building takes a long time. At first, that's very aggravating to understand."

"This is rural America. We’re rich in self-sustaining nature and neighbors helping neighbors but we don’t have resources, I’ve got a car full of toys we’re taking to a school where 60 kids weren’t going to have Christmas. [...] Now they’re closing the coal-fired plants, and those tradesmen and -women are being thrown out of those highly skilled jobs, and it’s having a terrible impact."

"Ken Cuccinelli just gave the game away. Racism is the point of their policy."

"Watched the clip again and would like to reiterate that Ken Cuccunnelli is a racist who doesn’t understand the first thing about America."

"Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge....No one has a right to become an American who isn't born here as an American."

"Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution, the third paragraph, lists some things that the states can do and under certain circumstances. And it says that no state shall enter into war without the permission of Congress unless they are actually invaded. Well, here it comes. And there are several interesting aspects of that.First of all, we’ve been being invaded for a long time and so the border states clearly qualify here to utilize this power themselves. And what’s interesting is they don’t need anyone’s permission. They can do it themselves. And because they’re acting under war powers, there’s no due process. They can literally just line their National Guard up with, presumably with riot gear like they would if they had a civil disturbance and turn people back at the border. Literally, you don’t have to keep them, no catch and release, no nothing. You just point them back across the river and let them swim for it. Maybe you have a little courtesy shuttle and drive them over and leave them there. And the states can do that, interestingly enough, and the federal government can’t. But it really becomes a question of do they want to utilize this power or not....When someone comes across your border without your permission, it’s an invasion. Their purpose here is to violate the border, to violate our sovereignty, for their own purposes. That’s an invasion. And here, I don’t think with the caravan it’s even debatable because you’ve got an entire group that’s organized itself to come into the country."

"What you may not know is that last year, in its finite wisdom, the D.C. City Council passed a new law, or a triumph of animal rights over human health, where those pest control people you suggested they bring in aren’t allowed to kill the rats. They have to relocate the rats and not only that — that’s actually not the worst part — they cannot break up the families of the rats. Now, as actual experts in pest control will tell you, if you don’t move an animal at least 25 miles, it’ll come back. And so what’s the solution to that? Well, cross a river....Anyway, it is worse than our immigration policy — you can’t break up rat families. Or raccoons or all the rest and you can’t even kill them. It’s unbelievable."

"This is not California's fair, nor San Francisco's fair. It belongs to the whole world, but peculiarly it will be for the benefit of the three Pacific Coast states. The eyes of the world will be on us. We will be in the spotlight, and we must look our best."

"I shall never seek office which will take me away from the people of Oregon. I am going to stay in the fight for them."

"I favor a liberal appropriation for the Oregon exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915. I am a devout believer in the gospel according to C. C. Chapman, that a man, a community or a state must toot its own horn, or verily the same shall not be tooted, and Oregon should make a showing at the big fair commensurate with her importance in the sisterhood of Pacific Coast States."

"While the amount may seem a trifle large at first blush, I believe that Oregon could not do better than to appropriate $500,000. She has the best location on the fair grounds, and she should have the best exhibit. That is, not necessarily the most expensive building, but the most representative showing of her manifold resources. No other state has so much to show, so many important interests that deserve adequate representation."

"There's the fishing interests, for instance. The whole world demands Columbia River salmon because it knows that it is the best that is canned. The whole world will be at San Francisco, and will be interested in knowing how the rich, red, finely flavored Chinook finds its way from the sea to its tables."

"The lumbering industry, and the state's latent resources in timber; the mining industry, showing the richness and diversity of our mineral wealth; the livestock industry, including dairy and fat stock, sheep and hogs, not forgetting the fact that Oregon is an ideal state for poultry; with the fruit industry in its various phases of planting, picking, and packing, and the hop industry—these are a few of the things that I would like to see 'played up' at San Francisco. Not only should their present development be emphasized, but the visitor should be made to understand that there is still plenty of room for development in all these branches."

"We have the goods and we should show them. While half a million may seem like a lot of money to spend for advertising, and while it is possible that Oregon can make a creditable showing on less than that, I am sure that it would be bread upon the waters that would come back to the fold, and I shall introduce an appropriation bill early in the session calling for that amount. I notice that a similar bill, for a like amount, will be introduced in the Washington Legislature."

"Don't write when you can talk; don't talk when you can nod your head."

"Never let anyone get anything on you."

"The great mass of people are interested in only three things—food, clothing, and shelter. A politician in a district like mine sees to it that his people get these things."

"We don't tell 'em how to vote—we simply suggest."

"There's got to be in every ward somebody that any bloke can come to—no matter what he's done—and get help. Help, you understand; none of your law and your justice, but help."

"I am taking a stand and feel good about it."

"If there is a profound split, I'll gladly re-join Republicans who are dedicated to equality and justice for all."

"I want to be among those in the party who are willing to live up to Republican principles."

"Senators! This trial is not about Donald Trump, the country and the world know who Donald Trump is! This trial is about who we are... who we are"

"“Remember what the mob chanted as they stormed the Capitol and injured our officers? ‘Hang Mike Pence!' Someone should have told Donald Trump that the president’s job under Article II of the Constitution is to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, not that the vice president is executed!”"

"Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You didn't place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."

"I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating."

"Three casual expressions attributed to Mr. Tweed, illustrated by his brief political history, indicate his theory of administration. The first was, "The way to have power is to take it;" the second, "He is human;" and the third, "What are you going to do about it?" In his career was exhibited the despotic phase of municipal administration. He got for himself and his associates offices, one after the other, by taking them with or without right, until he held the power of the State, and then fortified his position by enacting appropriate laws. His means of doing this was to approach men through their self-interests, and to buy their support by promises, offices, and money. His appreciation of this trait in the character of the men about him was expressed in his belief that they were "human." The arrogance of the full possession of power and the defiance against the remonstrances of honest men drove him to the extreme of audacity, "What are you going to do about it?" which preceded his fall. There was no greater popular mistake than to call Mr. Tweed and his associates a "ring." They were so at the outset by the "cohesive power of public plunder," but, once in possession, like a crew of pirates who had gained the deck of a prize, they became arrayed against each other. If they had been a ring, their compactness of purpose might have constituted a government, but they had so little hold upon or confidence in each other that they dissolved at the first shock."

"I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles; my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures."