That sound you’re hearing is the air going out of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s 2016 Republican Presidential aspirations, thanks to the scandal known as ‘bridgegate.’

But I do want to make something clear because it’s important to me as a human. And that is you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.

We were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let's just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. And I think Pete also knew that -- to our mutual sadness.

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.

As the Democratic Party, we have a lot of work to do to make up for our failures in the past. We got crushed in this last election.

Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7 is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11.

To hate him is wrong, and maybe my ego got too caught up in, if I stood here maybe, maybe — just maybe — I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand. I’m not here, though, because of his speech. I’m here despite his speech. I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful.

Too many in our party have lost their way and it’s time to wake the heck up.

The hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Congress that I so deeply respect.