[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE STATE OF THE HOUSE TODAY

  (Mr. CLEAVER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I came to the floor today to talk about 
Social Security, but having spent most of last evening watching the 
news on a variety of stations and reading several newspapers this 
morning, I decided I just wanted to speak about what I am seeing.
  This body has gone from ``states craft'' to demagoguery and 
witchcraft. The Hill has become a sick setting for everything wrong and 
ugly about politics. We're not about a way to fix. We're about pure 
nasty politics. We can be partisan without being poisonous.
  And when I look back at our young pages, young Americans who are 
gifted, I cannot help but wonder whether we are teaching them through 
our actions to become peace sowers or bomb throwers. We make the 
choice.
  We can be partisan without being poisonous, and on this day, July 21, 
2010, we are poisonous.

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