In the face of so much pain, I remain an incurable optimist. I am fueled by the passion of the women I have been privileged to meet and work with, buoyed by their hope for peace, justice, and democracy. Bella Abzug More Quotes by Bella Abzug More Quotes From Bella Abzug We need laws that protect everyone - men and women, straights and gays, regardless of sexual perversion...ah, persuasion. Bella Abzug gay law men We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room. Bella Abzug women motivational inspirational All the men on my staff can type. Bella Abzug staff he-man men Abortion doesn't belong in the political arena. It's a private right, like many other rights concerning the family. Bella Abzug abortion political rights This woman's place is in the House - the House of Representatives. Bella Abzug house-of-representatives representatives house I always had a decent sense of outrage. Bella Abzug outrage decent I am not elevating women to sainthood, nor am I suggesting that all women share the same views, or that all women are good and all men bad. Bella Abzug sainthood views men I am not being facetious when I say that the real enemies in this country are the Pentagon and its pals in big business. Bella Abzug business real country Nixon impeached himself. He gave us Ford as his revenge. Bella Abzug revenge The establishment is made up of little men, very frightened. Bella Abzug made littles men When I was a young lawyer, working women wore hats. It was the only way they would take you seriously. Bella Abzug hats lawyer way I spend all day figuring out how to beat the machine and knock the crap out of the political power structure. Bella Abzug beat day political power Our struggle was political, ideological and economic, and we felt we couldn't make something of ourselves unless we bettered society. We saw the two together. Bella Abzug society political struggle together Imperfect though it may be, the Beijing Platform for Action is the strongest statement of consensus on women's equality, empowerment and justice ever produced by governments. Bella Abzug equality women action justice We are bringing women into politics to change the nature of politics, to change the vision, to change the institutions. Women are not wedded to the policies of the past. We didn't craft them. They didn't let us. Bella Abzug women politics nature change All of the men on my staff can type. Bella Abzug staff type men I am not a centrist. Bella Abzug centrist am i-am I'm a politician. I run for office. That's my profession. Bella Abzug run profession politician office A woman's place is in the house - the House of Representatives. Bella Abzug woman place representatives house When I first became a lawyer, only 2% of the bar was women. People would always think I was a secretary. In those days, professional women in the business world wore hats. So I started wearing hats. Bella Abzug women lawyer business people