Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, during a general speech on the House floor on Wednesday.
I’m not a ‘phobe’ of anything, but it’s time to recognize truth and that is that radical Islamic terrorists want to destroy our way of life and kill us. It’s very simple.
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Frederick Clarkson, senior fellow for religious liberty at Political Research Associates, on the importance of the 1786 passing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the creation of Religious Freedom Day in 1991.
There is no better day than Religious Freedom Day to tell the story of the genesis of religious freedom in America, a history which may shed fresh light on these dark claims of the right to discriminate in freedom’s name. The statute is regarded as the taproot of how the framers of the Constitution approached matters of religion and government, and it was as revolutionary as the era in which it was written.
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Louis Malfaro, secretary-treasurer for the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, on the passing of the chapter’s president, Linda Bridges. Linda served as the president of the organization since 2005. TFN’s thoughts are with Linda’s family and the AFT staff.
When times got tough, as they often did when trying to look out for the welfare of teachers and students, Linda was the one person you knew had to be in the room with you to figure out the next step.
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Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, predicting a more conservative legislature while throwing his support behind the tea party-backed candidate for House Speaker, Scott Turner.
We are on the road to be throwing conservative legislation over the transom to the House to the point they can’t [kill every bill].
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Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, responding to a question on what can be done about the ideological differences towards immigration between traditional Republicans and tea party members.
We have to realize we’re not a bunch of white people, we’re not a party of skin color, we’re a party of ideas.
