Women Politicians In The United States

"We must teach our country that life is no less valuable, and human dignity no less precious, in Asia than elsewhere."

"The World War II detention overnight reduced the entire population of one national origin to an enemy, stripped of property, rights of citizenship, human dignity, and due process of law, without so much as even a stifled voice of conscience among our leading scholars or civil libertarians. More recently, the Vietnam War has reinforced the view of Orientals as something less than fully human. All Vietnamese stooping in the rice fields are pictured as the enemy, subhuman without emotions and for whom life is less valuable than for us."

"Although Congress has repealed the Emergency Detention Act, the fight for freedom is not over. We now see a new witch hunt proclaimed in which all government employees will be examined for their memberships and organizations. It seems that we have not yet succeeded in expunging the notion that "dangerous" persons can be identified by class or group relationships and punished accordingly. I believe that nobody can find safety in numbers-by huddling with the larger mass in hopes of being overlooked. Those who seek to suppress will always find ways to single out others. Instead, we must change the basic attitude that all must conform or be classed as renegades and radicals. Our nation was founded on the idealistic belief in individualism and pioneering spirit, and it would be tragic for our own generation to forswear that ideal for the false security of instant assimilation."

"They need the guidance and support of their parents to succeed, but in any event with or without us, they are trying. It behooves us to do all we can to accept their aspirations, if not all of their actions, in the hope that this new generation will be able to find a special role for themselves in America, to help build her character, to define her morality, to give her a depth in soul, and to make her realize the beauty of our diverse society with many races and cultures of which we are one small minority."

"I hope that all Japanese American organizations and others with strong beliefs in the magnificent history and culture of the Orient will now help lead the way to a more enlightened America. We have an immense story to tell, for as I have said the public at large too often assumes that all civilization is Western and no worth is given to the human values of the East. As long as this belief persists, we will have future Vietnams. The way to counteract it is to build public knowledge, through school courses, travel, and dedicated emphasis on increased communications, so that our people will know and appreciate all that is Asian."

"We cannot and must not presume knowledge about Asia merely because we are Asians"

"so many of our children are growing up in complete isolation in a society that places a premium on conformity, in middle-class homes where parents still want to play down their differences, and prefer to homogenize with society. Some of these children are rebelling and are seeking ways to preserve their uniqueness and their special heritage. I see pride and strength in this. One of the most promising avenues for this renewed search for one's heritage is in our school systems-the logical place for instructing children in the knowledge they need. Programs of ethnic heritage studies are needed in our schools."

"The children of some of you here tonight are involved in the great protests of today-are they chronic malcontents and subversives? I think not-I think they are probably fairly well-educated, thoughtful people who see certain conditions they don't like and are trying to do something about it. I'm not sure they know exactly what they want to do. I do know they are clearly dissatisfied with the way their world has been run in the past. So, the problem is not what to do about dissent among our young people-the problem is what to do about the causes of this dissent. The question is not "how to suppress the dissent" but how to make it meaningful... how to make it productive of a better society which truly places high value on individual human beings as human beings and not merely as so many cogs in the great, cold and impersonal machinery of an industrialized society."

"All of the systems of the world today have this in common: for they are mainly concerned with industrialization, efficiency, and gross national product; the value of man is forgotten."

"A lack of appreciation for the value of human life can occur wherever totalitarian government exists. This makes it more than vital for us to oppose such influences within our own country wherever they may occur. The war in Vietnam has lasted for seven years. If Americans believed there was the same worth in the life of an Asian, this war would have ended long ago. If Americans were willing to concede that the Asian mind was no different than his, a peace would have been forged in Paris long ago. I am convinced that racism is at the heart of this immoral policy."

"According to Attorney Koota, I wonder how many generations must we be Americans to be steeped with this spirit of Americanism with which he believes he is possessed? Can it be said that only Hawaii has a foreign ideology as its background and not Brooklyn, New York, or any city in this country where its people are of immigrant stock?"

"If you love this country as much as I love this country, and you're willing to die for this country, like I was willing to die for this country, we can find a way to work with each other. But I will tell you that it's not always that easy. I don't think Donald Trump, for example, loved this country. And that made it hard to work with him"

"While she and I differ on many issues, we share the view that we need to strengthen our economy, make communities safe and restore civility to our political system, it is my sincere hope that she will be a strong voice on behalf of all Illinoisans in the United States Senate over the next six years and I wish her well"

"I don't know that they disbelieved the results of the election, I think that maybe some of them are realizing the enormity of appealing to, you know, those who believe in conspiracy theories, and the damaging effects it has on our democracy and our institutions"

"When I see myself wearing those legs in a mirror, I see loss. But when I see this I see strength. I see a reminder of where I am now. People always want me to hide it in pictures. I say no! I earned this wheelchair. It’s no different from a medal I wear on my chest. Why would I hide it"

"My position is if you want to filibuster something, then come to the floor of the Senate and speak and let the American people see why you’re opposing something, instead of where we are right now is you can actually say, I’m filibustering a bill’ and then never talk about it and the bill doesn’t move"

"Assume the person you're dealing with is coming from an honorable place. They're just coming at the problem from a different perspective than you. It's a version of: Assume they love this country as much as you do"

"We haven’t done justice to the justice promised in its sentences and sentiments, so you better believe that in my next term, I’m going to keep doing everything in my power to change that"

"If there’s anything that my ancestors’ service taught me, it’s the importance of protecting our founding values, including every American’s right to speak out. In a nation born out of an act of protest, there is nothing more patriotic than standing up for what you believe in, even if it goes against those in power."

"This is a truly awful hate crime that has no place anywhere in this nation. No one should be attacked because of the color of their skin or who they love. Jussie, please know that many people across IL and our country are sending love your way."

"Parenthood isn’t just a women’s issue, it’s an economic issue and an issue that affects all parents — men and women alike."

"Our troops know how to work together,they stand shoulder-to-shoulder to protect and defend this country. We surely in these chambers can do the same. So let's stop blaming each and other and let's get to work. Our men and women in uniform deserve nothing less."

"When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didn't care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown."

"That day, and so many others when I served, illustrated the two most important lessons the military taught me: Never leave anyone behind—not on the battlefield and not in our country. And never put a service member in harm’s way without understanding the cost—the very real and very human cost—of war."

"You don’t have to suffer war injuries to understand how tough life can be."

"America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty as her sons."

"I’m honored to officially become the President Pro Tempore of the Senate today."

"For millions of American women, reading the news this morning was like stepping into a time machine and going back 50 years, seeing the headlines and the photos of this all-male panel in the House talking about a woman's right to access birth control, and no women on the panel. It turns out the chairman of the House oversight committee decided he was not going to allow a young woman who had been asked by the minority to testify and tell her story--actually of a friend who had lost an ovary because of her lack of contraception coverage. So this 19-year-old woman was left to watch, like the rest of us, as all five men addressed the committee about how they supported efforts to restrict access to care. I am sure by now many of my colleagues here have seen this picture of this all-male panel, the picture that says a thousand words. It is one that most women thought was left behind when pictures only came in black and white."

"We haven't [helped pay for schools, roads and even day care centers]. How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?"

"The entire situation is botched, and yet the president comes out and continues to show an arrogant callousness. He just cannot lead, and we cannot have him in this position anymore."

"It's just unfortunate that these false gun arguments roll out every time. It's not the gun. It's the person behind the gun. If the person is intending to commit violence, they're going to do it."

"I'm elected to do a job. I'm professional, and I'm cordial. I want to get as much using our collaborative efforts that we can for our district, but my job isn't to be friends."

"we’re actually in the momentum. And what I mean by that is, in the way that we are intentional about bringing our ancestors into spaces, I have got to bring people like Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters. This did not — this, yes, you know, there is a paradigm shift occurring, but there have been women before us, women of color before us, black women before us, who shook the table, who called to question, who sought justice, who were the truth tellers, who preserved our democracy. And we are simply honoring and trying to be good stewards of the ground that they laid."

"We are not a monolith. We amplify and support each other, however we choose to show up in the resistance. I couldn’t believe the folks that were saying, “You’re not going to the State of the Union. That is your job. We want our money back. Because if I didn’t show up to work, I would be docked pay.” Well, talk to the Senate, because they haven’t been doing their job this whole Congress."

"I did do, have the honor of delivering, the Working Families Party response, because we already know the state of the union. It’s in complete chaos and disarray. I wanted to speak to the state of the movement, which is strong as hell."

"It was a sham of a State of the Union, following the sham of a trial. The occupant of this White House has contempt for the American people, for the role of Congress as a coequal branch, as checks and balance, contempt for our Constitution. And so it was a sham of a State of the Union to me."

"A 17 year old white supremacist domestic terrorist drove across state lines, armed with an AR 15. He shot and killed 2 people who had assembled to affirm the value, dignity, and worth of Black lives. Fix your damn headlines."

"Don't call these cabinet resignations anything but a Profile in Cowardice. They're resigning to avoid invoking the 25th amendment. Congress & the people see right through it. We must impeach & remove."

"The people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power."

"The Ocasio-Cortez/Markey Green New Deal resolution goes to considerable lengths to outline how it plans to avoid repeating these injustices, listing as one of its core goals "stopping current, preventing future, and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth." As Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said at a town hall in Boston, "This is not just an opportunity to fix the first New Deal, but also to transform the economy.""

"And so, our freedoms and our destinies are tied. And what we need to get to is stop what Ilhan and I have often referred to as like the Oppression Olympics. You know, this is not a competition for who is sinking the fastest. There is no hierarchy of hurt. And so, what I’m looking for is equitable outrage, inclusive organizing and our collective upliftment."

"I need people to understand the link between the humanitarian crisis at the border and babies being ripped from their mother’s arms and what happened in my household, in millions of American households, when my father was in and out of the criminal legal system for 14 years for being an addict. So, I’m for the preservation of family, from the border and, as I would say in my district, all the way to Blue Hill Avenue. So, it’s not a competition; there is no hierarchy of hurt. If you are aghast at the crisis of human trafficking globally, then don’t look at what’s happening in your own backyard and see that as blight and affecting your property values, and not understand the brokenness and not see those folks as your neighbors. If you are concerned about human rights violations and abuses and what is happening to women and rape being used as a tool of war and oppression, please pay attention to what is happening right here. If you are concerned about the violation, the undermining of women’s rights globally, then pay attention to what’s happening with Hyde and the gag rule and the ROE Act and in our courts and abortion."

"what I want us to get to is — and you already do it, but we need more, more folk to be intentional and inclusive in our movement building and our coalition building and the breaking down of silos and of challenging folk to have equitable outrage."

"we are often characterized as being disruptive. Now, if we were in Silicon Valley, we would be called innovators. So, yes, yeah, we are disrupters. We are innovators. And contrary to the opinion of many, we are actually patriots, because dissent is the ultimate patriotism."

"All of us have done things that we’re not proud of. But we serve a big, forgiving, almighty God."

"For decades, local and national leaders have failed to make the necessary investments in our infrastructure to modernize it and keep it up, keep pace with economic growth and bring it into the 21st century, particularly in an aging city like New York"

"She has to come out against this president of the United States who openly led the effort, exciting this, and encouraging it and pushing it"

"“You have an amazing group of freshmen members of Congress who have stories to share with Americans, particularly millennials – who [think] that socialism is something grand. It’s not,”"

"When it comes to public safety, when it comes to economy and stemming the tide of illegal immigration and cracking down on this rise in inflation"

"I look forward to being on the offense now to pass good legislation to secure our borders, to support our police and to make sure that we give people the government they deserve, one that is fair"