# Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Wisconsin since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 78th district, and from 1999 to 2013 represented Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.

## Quotes

* "I believe in fair play, and I believe that when people are struggling, you don't talk down to them, you help lift them up".
** Tammy Baldwin Acceptance Speech on November 7, 2012.
* "One of the most amazing experiences of my life has been the ability to work from within a legislative body to build majorities, to change minds and hearts, and to bring people to the place where they're proud to call themselves fighters for equity and equality".
** on December 20, 2018.
* Here are the facts that are important to me. Kyle Rittenhouse, who was a minor at the time, traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin, and picked up an assault rifle that was illegally purchased for him. He took the law into his own hands, killing two people and injuring another... I understand why people believe that justice was not served in this case, because I feel the same way. This ruling makes clear we have so much work to do to take on gun violence, and reform our broken criminal justice system so that it starts working equally and fairly for everyone. In Wisconsin, this judge has now ruled that it’s legal for a minor to walk the streets in Wisconsin with an assault weapon. If that is true, then our state legislature should take action now in a bipartisan way to change the law and make it illegal... To me that’s just common sense that most people in our state would agree with. The fact that some people are cheering a ruling that has allowed someone to take the law into his own hands and walk free from any accountability after shooting and killing two people is disrespectful to the lives that were lost, and I am deeply concerned that it will encourage more tragic gun violence from those like Kyle Rittenhouse who think they have a license to take the law into their own hands in a violent way.
** 19 November 2021 in Statement on the Verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial
* "My own first reaction was this is absolutely unnecessary but if they want clarification in writing, OK, there's no harm to state the facts"
** said Baldwin, pointing to the provision related to polygamy, which is illegal
* "Millions of same-sex and interracial couples made this moment possible by living openly as their authentic selves, changing the hearts and minds of people around them"
** Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a lead sponsor of the legislation, said after the vote
* "This legislation will protect the hard-fought progress we’ve made on marriage equality and I look forward to the Respect for Marriage Act becoming the law of the land"
** on her legislation
* "The reauthorization is long overdue, and we want to make sure it keeps pace with the retirement of the baby boom generation"
* "We were talking about, access for students who might be non-traditional students, mid-career, needing to close skills gaps to get 21st century manufacturing or advanced manufacturing jobs and how they're playing a key role in doing that"
* "People are really sick of us going from fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis, and really want to see us getting back to a point where we look out over a year, or five years or ten years and plan in thoughtful way"
** Baldwin says she is committed to writing and passing a new federal budget
* "If you think about the challenges our state is facing and the people of our state are facing... some of them are things that can be addressed in a short period of time, but most of them are things that take work and that will take time"
* I think that there has been a real opportunity for me to be a champion for issues that I might not hear about if I only was going to the population centers of the state
** according to Tammy Baldwin fights to maintain appeal in rural Wisconsin amid Democratic slide (April 17, 2024)

## Quotes about her

* "Tammy did a great job of reaching out to the Democratic leadership, and emphasizing the importance, and helping to decide, some of the timing, such as waiting til after the election. Her leadership was critical"
** on her leadership