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Grayson Responds To Critics

None — Selected statements from those who have criticized statements made by U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson:

(referring to ‘die quickly' statement) "A breach of decorum and degraded the integrity and proceedings of the House," Rep. Tom Price (R) Georgia

"That is about the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I've ever heard made on this floor, and I, for one, don't appreciate it" Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R) Tennessee

"It's fully appropriate that the gentleman return to the floor and apologize," Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) Tennessee

(referring to ‘K-street whore' statement) "There's no call for that language. No call for it. That's absurd. If he was standing here now, I'd say that to him" Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.)

"He's out of control," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R) Washington - vice chair of the House Republican Conference.

"Is this news to you that this guy's one fry short of a Happy Meal?" Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)

"A bit extreme and rather sexist." Rep. Dina Titus (D) Nevada

(after Rep. Grayson's reference to "holocaust" in healthcare discussion) "He's not really someone who's interested in solving the problem; he's trying to really create more of this bickering. And more of these types of comments are not helping the debate in Washington." Adam Hasner Florida House Majority Leader

(Referring to several statements) "Arrogant and disrespectful," Dan Fanelli (R), Florida 8th Congressional District Challenger

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's Response: "I have spoken out honestly and courageously on many issues that are important to all of us, especially the fact that I want every American who is sick to be able to see a doctor, and get the care that he or she needs. The other side disagrees, and so they complain about me and attack me personally. But as Harry Truman said, "I don't give them hell. I just tell the truth about them, and they think it's hell." People liked a President with guts, and they like a Congressman with guts. That's why our polls show that if I ran in the Republican primary, not just the Democratic primary, I'd win it. That's why a first-term Congressman like me has the largest donor base of any member of Congress. We are working hard, paying attention, and getting things done, so of course they attack us. And as Franklin Roosevelt said about his opponents, who sought to keep America mired in the Great Depression, "I welcome their hatred."