If the past is an indication, when women are given a job to do in Congress, they get it done.

For me, one of my earliest memories of politics where I thought that I could do anything was when Walter Mondale of Minnesota picked Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. I literally remember what she wore - the red dress, the white pearls. And I saw that, and I thought, 'Anything is possible.'

It is time for us to make a real commitment to our rural communities by expanding broadband, by supporting our farmers, by building affordable housing and taking on rural poverty. That's how we leave no one behind.

I was one of the first women partners at my law firm, the first woman in my Minnesota prosecutor job, and the first woman elected from my state to the Senate. So advice from women who had done similar things was important for me.

It is only after you are able to stand on your own feet, or have the confidence that you can stand on your own feet, should you look at doing things such as marriage or setting up a family.

Every family in Konya has at least one shoemaker in their midst, and I am one of those families.

When I married Marjorie, along with her, I got this very large family and a bunch of family friends. It's a dynamic I've never been around. I've always been kind of a loner, and my attempts at domestic life failed miserably. So the family dynamic is a great thing.

I have really musical parents, and my dad was always encouraging, but the desire to get onstage and perform really did come from me. I'd never push my future children.