John Dingell has been in Congress so long he voted to admit Hawaii and Alaska as states.
It's not exactly the capstone of a record-setting career, but John Dingell sure seemed to have a blast Monday night on The Colbert Report.
At the start of a week when he becomes the longest-serving representative or senator ever -- 57 1/2 years -- the congressman from Dearborn bantered for six minutes on Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central show.
"You've been in Congress longer than Hawaii and Alaska have had a congressman," the host noted. There were few other quips, though Colbert said "this is a family show" that couldn't air Dingell's reference to becoming a Democrat "from my mother's milk."
Here's some of what the guest, who began serving in 1955, says in the full clip below:
- "The biggest change is the loss of collegiality . . . good will, good humor, a willingness to work together, friendliness."
- "Compromise is an honorable word."
- "The single bill I'm most proud of is the 1964 civil rights act, which stopped the nation from being torn apart."
