Top kickers of 2017

Every day, we feature a quote pulled from one of the many, many news outlets we check when aggregating our popular morning First Read newsletter (sign up here). We call it “The Kicker.” It could be a provocative quip, a powerful statement or something just plain funny.

Here’s a look at our 10 favorite kickers of 2017.

RELATED: The top tweets in New York politics of 2017

Feb. 3

“I believe many others will be jumping ship to join the IDC. Our Democratic Conference is doomed to die.”

– State Sen. Rubén Díaz Sr., via the New York Post

Feb. 13

“We could probably sell out a public lynching, but we don’t do that because it’s wrong and encourages violence.”

– Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, responding to reports that the state’s first mixed martial arts event exceeded financial expectations, via the Daily News

March 10

"Rest in peace, Notorious B.I.G. Where Brooklyn at?”

– U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, on the U.S. House floor, paying tribute to the legendary rapper on the 20th anniversary of his death, via the Daily News

April 17

"I'd vote for him again 20 more times if I could. Build the wall! … Democrats do everything in their power to destroy this country. Hillary Clinton was everything I am against. She was out to destroy the culture that made this country: Hard work, guns, freedom."

– Hal McWilliams, a self-employed contractor from Portageville, who uses a food bank in danger of closing under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, via The Buffalo News

May 25

“You ever watch the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’? One of my favorite lines is when they bring the in-laws to come in and he says: ‘They’re so boring. They’re like a piece of toast – no butter, no jam.’ I’ll just leave it at that.”

– Republican New York City mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis, on her primary rival Paul Massey Jr., via The New York Times

RELATED: The biggest Winners & Losers of 2017

Aug. 8

“He feels entitled to take a nap.”

– An unnamed former staffer, on de Blasio’s proclivity for taking naps in his office after going to the gym, via the New York Post

Aug. 16

“I don't want to embarrass myself by putting the ice cream in my ear. I want to leave the day before that, not the day after.”

– Assemblyman Denny Farrell, on his reasons for retiring, via the Daily News

Aug. 24

“I know sausage. I don’t know a lot in life, but I know sausage. Since I was a young’n.”

– Gov. Andrew Cuomo, consuming a Gianelli sausage at the New York State Fair, via Politico New York

Sept. 29

“To know that my child was playing where there’s a cat-sized rat is unsettling, but then, we live in New York.”

– Grace Hartman, a parent on the Upper West Side, where rats often roam the playgrounds, via The Wall Street Journal

Nov. 1

“Life has to go on.”

– Anita Durst, an attendee of the Village Halloween Parade, on going to the event after a terrorist attack, via The New York Times