Barbara boxer quotes

If something is opinion, put it in the opinion section: Don't put it in the facts section.

I'm hopeful that the energy efficiency and public buildings bill will have their endorsement.

The White House has embarked on a mission to convince the people of our country that Social Security is in dire need of drastic change in order to save it for all workers

Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement

The day you realize you're a grownup is the day you realize that you have to do something. When we're kids, we don't have to do anything. Then all of a sudden you realize, if I want this to be better, I've got to do something.

There has to a certain responsibility, whether it's TV news, online news, to sort out opinion from fact.

Let me tell you, life is interesting regardless of when you are in the fight.

We are all different. Yet we are all God's children. We are all united behind this country and the common cause of freedom, justice, fairness, and equality. That is what unites us.

I think Democrats are right. We fight for the American dream, for the environment, for privacy rights, a woman's right to choose, a good public education system.

Our democracy is the centerpiece of who we are as a nation. And it is the fondest hope of all Americans that we can help bring democracy to every corner of the world.

Who knows when Donald Trump will have a press conference? Maybe he's just going to stay in Trump Tower and issue tweets - you know, gold-plated tweets to the American people. It's scary.

If you dared to put your opinion into a factual piece, your editors said, "You can't do this. Write an op-ed."

The difference between the very wealthy and the working poor has grown. We raise that minimum wage and we move forward with the vision of this president that we have, which is everyone pays their fair share.

If it's racist, it's racist. If it's anti-Semitic, it's anti-Semitic. If it's anti-women, it's anti-women. If it's anti-immigrant, it's anti-immigrant, and we need to really strengthen our language, so that it is clear and not mushy.

It's good I was born in Brooklyn. You learn how to take care of yourself.

Every American at some point has got to make the connection between their own hopes and dreams and who is elected to office. It's essential. It's very easy to pull the covers up over your head and say, "I can't handle it. Too much." But we just have to handle it and we have to accept that it's our job. Each of us. Nobody is going to take care of it.

Just look at the Judiciary Committee, You have some people on the Judiciary Committee who may well decide not to send the nomination to the floor, and now it all depends on what Democrats do.

The American people are beginning to see the Republicans' willingness to trample over 200 years of history, to step on the minority, to push everybody out of the way because they want 100 percent. It's rubbing the American people the wrong way. One-party rule is not good.

If I can make a generalization, men get into politics because, from the time they're little boys, they've been wanting to be President.

When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, 'Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?' They want that.

When John Kennedy was assassinated I was twenty-three, a stockbroker on Wall Street and married, and I never ever thought that politics would be anything that I would be a part of. But I realized that I had to get involved. Then, when Martin Luther King was assassinated and the Vietnam War was raging, I felt that my world was falling apart. I had these two beautiful children - three and one - and I just said, "I have to make it better."

In the early stages of a pregnancy, the Government cannot intervene with a woman's right to choose. That is it, plain and simple. Guess what. We are not going to be big brother or sister, as the case may be. We are going to allow a woman, her doctor, and her God to make that decision.

The Democratic Party has awakened. We've not been awake since 9/11, in many ways. We had moments, sporadically, where we woke up. But I think we were so hit by 9/11, as the whole country was, that we didn't get our legs back. It took a while. Now the Democratic Party is back. I've never seen it as united. Sure, we have a ways to go. We have a lot of ground to cover.

We have to treasure our country, our freedom, the progress we've made, and if we see any of that threatened, we have to respond.

If we turn our back on the people of this country who need to work for a living, we shouldn't be here, to be honest, because that has to be an essential part of what we do to protect the country, from the standpoint of defense, protect workers and make sure they have jobs.

You take what you've learned, you pass it down, and you keep working.

Each issue has to be looked at as to whether or not it threatens a woman's health or her life, and if it does, you can't support it. And if she just wants to have her legal right to an abortion, she should be able to do it.

I think we need to get back to truth-based news. It won't be easy, but we better do it because otherwise we're not acting on information.

To win the cause we all believe in, the spread of true democracy all over the world, we need to win by example, not just with speeches but by example; not just with military might but by gaining the respect of the world.

Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has a much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress, or any President.

The press is critical at this time, and if you look at history, this is so critical.

President Bush in his inaugural address talked about bringing freedom to countries that don't have it. He didn't specify how.

The combined efforts of millions of concerned citizens could do wonders to help the impoverished. The American people are ready for action!

Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again.

I'm a very big believer in collaboration and teamwork.

If you don't move to protect copyright, if you don't move to protect our children, it's not going to sit well

So when you go up against the Far Right you go up against the big financial special interests like the Halliburtons of the world, the big oil companies, the big energy companies who work so hard to rip us off.

I believe in truth-telling. So let's call it what it is. It's very troubling to see people like Bannon who make anti-Semitic remarks, who has a very checkered past be sitting next to the president of the United States. It puts an absolute responsibility on all of us to call it the way we see it and not use expressions like "alt-right."

I would not run for president. I really like what I'm doing now. People say I'm giving them energy and hope.

You stand up to bullies. Don't shrink back. You fight back with all your strength, and the press is going to have to do it, politicians are going to have to do it, all of us are going to have to do it.

I know from my constituency what is going on. Doctors that are told, begged, by mothers, 'Please don't write down that my child as asthma. Please lie and say it's bronchitis, because if you write down asthma, when my child turns 18 or 20 and has to get his or her own insurance, it will be a pre-existing condition.'

I would love to see a march on Washington that says 'Save our Social Security'

In America, the system itself of democracy is being threatened.

With so many of our fundamental rights hanging in the balance, it is not good enough to simply roll the dice, hoping a nominee has changed his past views. It's not good enough to think, 'This is the best we can expect from this president'.

[On going into politics:] My husband went to bed with Debbie Reynolds and he woke up with Eleanor Roosevelt.

I can't predict if I will see a woman president, but I think I may well because, again, Hillary Clinton got more votes probably than any other Democratic candidate ever, except for Obama. But she got more votes than Trump and she got more votes than Richard Nixon got when he won the election, more votes than John Kennedy got when he won.

Look, all this is about is utilizing the rules of the Senate, using a majority of the senators, to make sure that we get health reform done. We cannot wait another day.

I'm not leaving the fight just because I decided not to run. I'm going to expand my political action committee and volunteer for it. I'm going to do lots of other things where I will have a voice. So I'm not leaving the fight.

Voting against the resolution authorizing the use of military force in Iraq was one of my proudest moments as a senator. It is long past time to close this tragic chapter in American history.

More than anything, I think as our country matures, we recognize that women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity

I have to say that after chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer just isn't that scary anymore.

You have to be an optimist to be in politics.

Even though the press at times made me completely crazy as they followed me around the hall, and asked tough questions over and over again - now believe me, every politician feels this way - it is a necessary part of our life, and we must have a press that isn't cowed and won't be afraid of ratings if they get put to the back of the room at a press conference.

The fact of the matter is actions speak louder than words.

Nothing is alarmist with Donald Trump because you don't really know what he's going to do.

We have the greatest hospitals, doctors, and medical technology in the world - we need to make them accessible to every American.

It is in Saudi Arabia's best interest to allow women to fully participate in its society, and this includes the right to vote and run for office.

I think the scientists have really caught the attention of the people of this country, and of course, they elected representatives by their very clear pronouncement that if we don't do something, we'll be in a lot of trouble.

I've been there for so many crossroads in American history. My whole political life spans the birth of the environmental movement, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, putting an end to unjust wars, and so and so.

I've faced the grief, I've faced the anger, and I'm ready to keep up the fight because America is worth fighting for.

I think America should amass a strategy for success, and set out the milestones. We need to help the Iraqis get their democracy up and running, we've got to help them train their military and police and security people, and we've got to start moving out.

Even if I have to stand alone, I will not be afraid to stand alone. I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to fight for what's right. I'm going to fight to hold people accountable

Since 1980, we've used reconciliation 22 times, and out of those times, Republicans used it 16 times. So, earth to my Republican friends, you can have your option but you cannot change these facts. They're in the Congressional Record

The Violence Against Women Act protects the lives of tens of thousands of domestic violence victims. But the U.S. must also support gender equality around the world, and that means acknowledging that some nations we consider to be our friends are no friends to women.

The job is never done and every generation has to fight again.

Our message will be that we're going to make federal government buildings a model - an energy-efficient model - and also start matching grants for cities and counties so that they can also do the same with their government buildings.

There's an effort on the part of many people to attack women's rights, women's health, and the ability to control our own lives. No doubt about it. And it is not a majority of the country, in any way, shape, or form. I know on the contraceptive issue, 70 percent of the country agrees with me. Will that stop my opponents? No. Because they are so radical. They chip away and chip away.

Tonight, you are hearing from the Democratic women of the Senate... We stand together on so many issues: economic prosperity, quality education for all, protecting a woman's right to choose

I take great solace in the fact that Donald Trump lost the popular vote. Hillary Clinton got over 2.5 million more votes than Donald Trump got. So I can't say in any way that the people think that harassing women is appropriate. So I don't think we should read into his victory the fact that, you know, women's rights are going to be diminished.

Iraq was a war of choice, not necessity.

Americans have long recognized the need to protect our public lands and their vast resources

Could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am? It's just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I'd appreciate it

There's a huge difference in the attitude of the people of the United States of America toward women in politics. It has taken an enormous turn toward equality.

I think being prepared for anything is the way to go.

I was a stock broker once. I think there is an absolute place for market investments. But they should never be the basis of one's retirement. They should be an additional piece on top of a basic, secure, guaranteed retirement benefit.

Medical professionals, not insurance company bureaucrats, should be making health care decisions.

The American people need to know the truth. The American people need to see the truth. In a democracy, letting the people know the truth is the essence of what it means to be free.

When service members are discharged, we should express our gratitude for their profound personal sacrifice, not hand them a bill for their hospital food.

Some people play golf. Some are artists, Some jog. I like to write.

Law enforcement officers are never 'off duty.' They are dedicated public servants who are sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened. They need all the help that they can get.

When you have a president-elect who calls the press every name in the book, I think it's a warning shot across the bow, and you go back to what you learn when you were a child.

The Saudi government's denial of basic rights to women is not only wrong, it hurts Saudi Arabia's economic development, modernization and prosperity.

I am saying there are women in the Senate, there are women in governorships, there are women in statewide office, there are women in the House, and I do think we can't ignore the fact that we have had the first woman ever win a nomination of a major party and the first woman ever winning the popular vote. So I think the table is set for a woman in the near future. I really do.

I've always thought the most patriotic thing you could do in a democracy is to speak the truth as you see it. And that's what we're supposed to be about in America. Freedom of speech.

I am sure that every one of my colleagues "Democrat, Republican, and Independent" agrees with that statement. That in the voting booth, every one is equal.

The American people as a whole are really pretty moderate. They're not, as a whole, conservative or liberal. The right wing is marching the Republican Party off a cliff.

If you want to be a leader, it doesn't mean that you have to have an opinion on everything. But if you do have an opinion and it is clear and you feel strongly about it, then you should say it.

I must be doing something right. I was raised to stand up to the bully in the schoolyard, and you don't lose that.

There are many faces to war. There is the face of courage, of bravery, of fellowship.There is the face of fear. Above all, there is love of country.

Really, life is complicated enough without having a bunch of Senators deciding what we should do in the privacy of our own homes.

I think we have to stop using the expression "alt-right." It's ridiculous. It's racist, fascist, nationalist.

We have fought for social justice. We have fought for economic justice. We have fought for environmental justice. We have fought for criminal justice. Now we must add a new fight - the fight for electoral justice.

We have to be realistic about what we can achieve in Afghanistan. The notion that the United States can build a Western-style democracy there is a myth

I've gone through so many of these stages of defeat and loss and victory, the ups and downs, that I know how to handle it.

Unfortunately, Trump has showed hateful inclinations toward many, many groups. Many groups. The most obvious: undocumented immigrants and Muslims. His comments that I've seen that he's made about Jewish people, about black people - they're all very troubling to me - even though he sort of said, "Oh, I distance myself from hate and don't do any of this hating stuff."

I am very enamored with the free press, and I was part of it for a period of time.

Perhaps, one of our greatest challenges as a nation, as a people, as human beings making sure that our grandkids can live on this Earth.

I've always thought of myself as a catalyst. Look, it's not without its perils. Ann Coulter called me "learning disabled." The things people write about me.

It's very important to face the grief, face the anger, and then get into a place where you are ready to fight because if you go back to the history of the United States of America, our Founders said we're giving you a Republic if you can keep it, and they also said we have a Constitution and we're going to form a more perfect union.

The point is that what we want, Democrats, and what we've always wanted, is to make abortion safe, legal, and rare.

What they [Jim deMint and the oil lobby] do care about is the precedent. If they open up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), they'll think they can do anything to the environment - anything at all. Drilling in Yosemite? In the Grand Canyon? What's next?

I don't know how long I'm going to live, but I hope my seeds are pretty good.

My understanding of the Electoral College is that they have the right to vote for who they want. So they should vote their conscience, and if their conscience leads them that way, they should follow their conscience.

We need to give the Iraqis a chance to build their own future. It should be in their hands. It must be in their hands. That is what democracy is all about. We can teach it, we can explain it, but they must want it enough to make it work for them.