NANCY PELOSI

Republicans support opening the floodgates to special interest money and suppressing the right to vote. It's just plain wrong.

Washington and Congress are steeped in history and tradition, and that's been very male-oriented.

The beauty of the Democratic Party is in the mix.

I really want women to know their power, to value their experience. To understand that nothing has been more wholesome in the political process than the increased involvement of women.

For 25 years, it has been my privilege to represent the city of San Francisco and the great state of California; to work to strengthen our vibrant middle class; to secure opportunity and equality.

My vision for the future always centers around our children - it always centers around our children. So anytime anybody asks me what are the three most important issues facing the Congress, I always say the same thing: 'Our children, our children, our children.'

I will not be making appointments to a committee that is not bipartisan.

Being the first woman speaker and breaking the marble ceiling is pretty important. Now it's time to move on.

The Republican Party is the Grand Old Party. It's made enormous contributions to the success of our country. And it is a party that has embraced its leadership role when it has had the majority or the White House.

I call Washington 'the city of the perishable.'

I have deep emotions about the American people. If I were to cry for anything, I would cry for them and the policies that they're about to face.

Democratic priorities remain clear: to provide a tax cut for working families, to promote policies that produce jobs and economic growth, and to assist millions of our fellow Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Jobs mean freedom for workers to support their families.

I would never think of crying about any loss of an office, because that's always a possibility, and if you're professional, then you deal with it professionally.

If I cry, it's about the personal loss of a friend or something like that. But when it comes to politics - no, I don't cry.

After over 200 years, not even a fifth of Congress is women.

They're anti-government ideologues who dominate the Republican Party.

If you don't vote, you don't count.

My biggest fight has been between those who wanted to do something incremental and those who wanted to do something comprehensive. We won that fight, and once we kick through this door, there'll be more legislation to follow.

Bipartisanship is nice, but it cannot be a substitute for action, not having it cannot prevent us from going forward.

Democrats believe in reigniting the American dream by removing barriers to success and building ladders of opportunity for all, so everyone can succeed.

I do believe that during the Bush-Cheney administration, that Vice President Cheney set a tone and an attitude for the CIA.

America must be a light to the world, not just a missile.

Social Security has never failed to pay promised benefits, and Democrats will fight to make sure that Republicans do not turn a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble.

When taxpayers are subsidizing low wages, people should be aware of that. We're subsidizing an economy. We're not subsidizing people. They are doing a hard day's work. When we're not rewarding work actively, there's something wrong with the system.