Category: Verbatim

No, it’s not the end of this. We heard what his statement was right at the outset. That was heartfelt; that’s what he believes.

— Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), quoted by the Washington Post, saying Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) apology for apologizing to oil giant BP will continue to haunt Republicans through the midterm elections.

I am the best candidate for the United States Senate in South Carolina and I am also the best person to be TIME magazine’s Man of the Year.

— Uber-campaigner Alvin Greene, in an interview with TIME magazine.

I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner’s execution. May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims.

— Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s Twitter post prior to Ronnie Lee Gardner’s execution by firing squad.

Does the candidate get paid?

— South Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene (D), when first asked if he would grant an interview to Time magazine.

What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a ‘tragedy,’ but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should repudiate his comments.

— White House response to Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-TX) apology to BP executives for what he called a $20 billion “slush fund” and “shakedown.”

They are known in the Norwegian. They are known for — for dikes and for cleaning up water and for dealing with spills.

– Sarah Palin

Well, in the Asian culture we do things differently. During the Samurai days, we just give you a knife and ask you to commit harakiri.

— Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), telling BP America President Lamar McKay about a form of ritual suicide that was practiced by samurais who
committed serious offenses.

You know,our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a
tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. I hope that’s not where we’re going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.

— U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV), advocating armed insurrection against the federal government on a talk show in January 2010.

You are asking for substantiation. I can’t go to a page in the bill but what I can tell you is the country is over $13 trillion in debt.

– Dan Fanelli, a Republican opponent to Rep. Alan Grayson, the liberal firebrand who represents Florida’s 8th district, responding to Politifact.com after they’d rated his ad as a “Pants on Fire” lie. In the ad, Fanelli falsely claimed that under the new health care law, the elderly will be denied care when they have “passed the age limit for treatment.”

It wasn’t Sen. McCain’s questioning, I assure you.

— Gen. David Petraeus, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, joking after he passed out during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.