Quotes By Charles Rangel

Of course things get stagnant; people get too used to their environment, but that's why I'm in my district every week, at meetings with my constituents.

As a nation we should commit ourselves not only to the fight against terrorism, but to economic justice, defeat of the AIDS epidemic and vestiges of discriminatory policies of all kinds.

If we believe in our current penal process, then the penalties imposed by judges and juries should be the only sanctions for one's crime, not the invisible sanctions of the legislature.

Full participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all.

I've been beat up pretty badly. Pretty badly. Yet at the end of the day, everyone says I'm doing a pretty good job.

Now is the time for the U.S. and the nations of Western Europe who engaged in the slave trade throughout this hemisphere to come forward in a positive way to assist in undoing the harm that was caused by their past colonial policies in the hemisphere.

The United States is historically a nation of immigrants.

At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.

I have a record that I'm so very, very proud of, and no campaign is going to take that away.

Regardless of the nature of their crime or any rehabilitation that may have occurred, these ex-felons cannot participate in the decision-making process of this great Nation.

I don't want to respond to rumors that have no basis at all... But I am willing to respond to questions that the public and the press should know.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was indeed a vital instrument of democracy, ensuring the integrity and reliability of a democratic process that we as a Country hold so dear.

Thousands of people may have been killed by hurricane Katrina and many more could die in its aftermath because of the President's refusal to heed the calls of governors for help in repairing the infrastructure in their states.

The people who couldn't get out of New Orleans to escape the storm were predominantly Black.

Meanwhile, our young men and women whose economic circumstances make military service a viable career choice are dying bravely in a war with no end in sight.

My father was absolutely no good.

The Klan had used fear, intimidation and murder to brutally oppress over African-Americans who sought justice and equality and it sought to respond to the young workers of the civil rights movement in Mississippi in the same way.

I don't know whether the number of any particular Latino group has made or will make any particular difference in the issues that I am concerned with.

The victor will be the one who gets the most voters out.

If there's no relationship with a father who's absent, nobody talks about it.

No one looks forward to a recount.

For a member to say, 'I'm a lame duck' violates political science 101.

Today many Caribbean workers can be found in the hospital, construction, service and hotel industries, but there is also a growing professional sector.

I'm in the kitchen and I'm not walking out.

The challenges African-Americans are facing today are rooted in the system of slavery.

Hurricane season routinely strikes the Caribbean harder than the U.S.

The Iraq war took priority over domestic disaster prevention.

I'm just glad that my community has faith and confidence in me.

We don't windsurf in Harlem.

We owe it to the flood victims of New Orleans to give them truthful answers as to why this event took place and to assure our citizens that tragedies like this will never happen again.