"I've been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prizefighter, a man-hater, you name it....There are those who say I'm impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash and overbearing. Whether I'm any of these things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am - and this ought to be made very clear at the outset - I am a very serious woman."

Notes
1. Bella Abzug, Bella! : Ms. Abzug Goes to Washington, Mel Ziegler, ed (New York : Saturday Review Press, 1972) 3.