I don’t like mimicking people. I don’t like repeating talking points. I don’t like arguing with people just to argue. I like actually coming up with an interesting thing to say that I don’t think has been said before in that way.

The idea that Democrats have a lock on the female vote is contradicted by history.

We tend to think of the House as a less historically significant legislative body than the Senate. There are more representatives than there are senators, they’re up for re-election every two years, and many come and go without having much of an impact."

I get Google alerts that automatically let me know when someone’s calling me a nutjob.

Football helped me with confidence that I needed. It gave me a sense of independence and earning my own money and my own keep. That's what it served. It gave me the strength to be able to deal with rejection, politics, hard work, and being introduced to pain and embracing what's uncomfortable.

Democracy cannot be a plaything for the capital cities. It has to infiltrate every nook and cranny in the country, including the village.

The war waged against terror since September 11 puts a strain on democracy itself, because it is mostly waged in secret, using means that are at the edge of both law and morality. Yet democracies have shown themselves capable of keeping the secret exercise of power under control.

Top-down government programs threaten to limit the freedom and opportunity that made this country great.