"There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast"
About this Quote
His pivot to “fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast” isn’t just local color; it’s an attempt to repossess national moral language for a constituency that’s easy to romanticize and easier to ignore. Commercial fishing sits at the intersection of work, inheritance, and risk. Boats and permits often pass through families; a season’s bad policy call can wipe out a livelihood; the labor is visible and physical in a way that D.C. abstractions aren’t. By naming fishermen and women, he modernizes an old American archetype without changing its emotional payload: the coastal version of the family farm.
The subtext is confrontational: if you vote against protections, disaster aid, fair trade rules, or sustainable management that keeps stocks viable, you don’t just oppose a program - you’re betraying your own stated creed. “Downtown at the White House” adds a faint sneer, painting executive power as distant and performative.
Contextually, DeFazio is doing what effective regional lawmakers do: translating a specific policy fight (often about fisheries regulation, environmental constraints, or economic relief) into a reputational test for national leaders. The point isn’t to praise fishermen; it’s to make it politically embarrassing not to.
Quote Details
| Topic | Family |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
DeFazio, Peter. (n.d.). There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-a-lot-of-lip-service-paid-in-this-58857/
Chicago Style
DeFazio, Peter. "There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-a-lot-of-lip-service-paid-in-this-58857/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-a-lot-of-lip-service-paid-in-this-58857/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
