“I just thought it was unconscionable for the Congress to insert itself...” — Gary Ackerman Quote

“I just thought it was unconscionable for the Congress to insert itself into this debate. We are particularly unqualified to make that decision and to intrude ourselves into the lives of this family.”

“Politics was my third act. But I could have a fourth. I don't know what that will be yet, but there will be one.”

“You can compromise between good, better, and best, and you can compromise between bad and worse and terrible. But you can't compromise between good and evil. And now people look at the other side as a completely different kind of animal and say, 'They are taking the country down the road to purgatory.' It's complete intolerance.”

“Patriots don't let their nation default.”

“Whether rich people make money or lose money, they get no sympathy from the public.”

“There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying in to Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses. There's a message there.”

“I think voters want somebody who understands their problems. You're right that they don't expect the president to fix everything. When he's wrestling with Congress and Wall Street and the rest of the world, they hope he'll be looking at things from their vantage point.”

“I believe Congress has a duty to do so as well; not simply as a body of legislators, but more importantly as a community of friends, neighbors, parents and Americans.”

“I could work with anybody. This is why we need more veterans in Congress.”

“I had quit the Congress to form the Progressive Democratic Front in 1978.”

“Creating a sustainable, economic, social, and ecological environment that provides everyone the opportunity to succeed is my mission in Congress.”

“When I started running for Congress, it actually took me by surprise that so many people were fascinated with me being the first Muslim in Congress.”