Kevin Kiley: “As a freshman Member, I haven't had as much time to work with Speaker Emeritus McCarthy as some of my colleagues have…”

“As a freshman Member, I haven't had as much time to work with Speaker Emeritus McCarthy as some of my colleagues have, but I am grateful for this year, working with him as part of the California delegation. Just observing his leadership of the Conference and of the House has really been something to behold. I think it is clear to everyone that he is a once-in-a-generation political talent. The millions of things that you have to do, large and small, to build a majority, to manage the Conference, to run the House, to exercise leadership on the national and international stage, he made it look effortless and was always cheerful in the way he went about it. I think that everyone in this House and across the country, whatever their politics, recognize that he is someone who is a leader in a way that transcends whatever position he holds, even a position as high as Speaker of the House of Representatives. When I think about what he has meant to this institution, I think about the famous essay by Max Weber, ``Politics is a Vocation,'' where he talks about the need to both have principles, but also to have a sense of responsibility when you are in the political arena; that this isn't just a philosophy class.…”