Statement by Senator Jim Tedisco on Governor’s Remark that America “was never that great”

“Our country must always strive to be a more perfect union but there is no question that the United States of America has been, currently is, and will always be the greatest nation on God’s Earth. We should be asking ourselves what was the Governor thinking when he said that America ‘was never that great.’ But there’s no escaping the fact that the Governor has made it painfully clear how he really feels about our country.”

“When he claims that America ‘was never that great,’ the Governor should tell that to the ‘Greatest Generation’ of Americans who saved the world from darkness during World War II. Tell that to the thousands of Americans who built our space program and landed Americans on the Moon.  Tell that to Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks who exemplify what is great about our country by heroically fighting to end racial discrimination and ensuring equality for all Americans. And tell that to the first responders at the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the regular, ordinary citizens on Flight 93 on September 11th who sacrificed their lives to save countless others.”

“What truly makes America great is that so many people have fought and given their last full measure of devotion to our country to protect our freedoms and liberties, including the right to have as pathetic of an opinion as our Governor’s. I’m asking any candidate or public official from any political affiliation to condemn the Governor’s deeply offensive statement. On this we should all have unity.”