Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend from Illinois for yielding the time. I also want to thank my colleague from Illinois, the distinguished dean of the Illinois Republican delegation for organizing the tribute to the late Phil Crane. The history of American conservatism, I believe, cannot be written without mentioning Phil Crane. Phil was born into a large family, to stalwart Republican parents. Crane's bedtime stories may well have been the Federalist Papers or the collected works of Edmund Burke. After completing his Ph.D. in history at Indiana University, Phil moved to my hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and he began teaching history, philosophy, and economics at my alma mater, Bradley University. For years, Crane filled his classes with students captivated by his engaging lectures, and he inspired them by his commitment to America's founding principles. All the while, he worked to build conservative youth movements from the ground up, creating leading groups like the Young America's Foundation and the American Conservative Union. Together with the pantheon of American conservatism, William F. Buckley, Ed Feulner, Stan Evans, Phyllis Schlafly, Barry Goldwater, and even Ronald Reagan, Crane helped lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness. I don't think it is an overstatement to suggest that a governing Republican majority would never have been possible without the gentleman from Illinois, the Honorable Phil Crane.…”