Women's Voices Will Be Heard in Congress

Senator Fritz Hollings, Democrat from South Carolina, will retire shortly after 38 years in Congress. The 82-year-old Hollings gave his parting speech from the floor of the Senate. I was amused, I suppose, by the following portion of his remarks:


The Senate has changed, he said, for the better as far as its members go.
"Five drunks or six drunks when I came here. There's nobody drunk in the United States Senate. We don't have time to be drunk."
Hollings noted other changes in the Senate during his tenure.
"We had one woman. She was outstanding, but she was outstandingly quiet. That was Margaret Chase Smith from Maine, a wonderful lady.
"... Now we've got 15 or 17, and you can't shut 'em up," he teased.

My admiration goes out to all our sisters in Congress whose voices are being heard loud and clear.