[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H10110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     END HARASSMENT OF MS. SANCHEZ

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, when Abraham Lincoln formed the 
Republican Party, one of the groups that he had to deal with in putting 
his coalition together was the nativist movement in this country called 
the ``Know Nothing Party.'' They hated two groups: The Irish, who spoke 
Gaelic and were Catholic; and the Germans, who spoke German and were 
Catholic.
  That root has been in the Republican Party from the very start. It is 
what drove millions of immigrants into the Democratic Party. All the 
southern Europeans who came to this country became Democrats because 
they knew the Republicans did not want them. And now we are after the 
Asians and the Hispanics. A prime example of that is the harassment of 
the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez].
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, on behalf of their party and this 
country, that they take the leadership in ending this harassment of a 
Member of this House, who was duly elected, certified by the State of 
California, and has been forced to spend $300,000 or more defending 
that seat. End it, Mr. Speaker. You can lead us.

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