Political Quotes

“Illinois lost its longest-serving Member of the House of Representatives and this country lost one of the great leaders of the conservative movement last week when Philip Crane passed away at the age of 84. For 35 years Phil Crane represented Chicago's northwest suburbs, a region I know well. He was first elected to Congress in 1969, winning a special election, and ultimately became the longest-serving House Republican when he was finally defeated in 2004. While I served with Congressman Phil Crane in the House of only 4 years, our districts were adjacent to each other and together we fought for many issues important to suburban Chicago and Illinois. Before conservative principles were fashionable, Phil was leading the way for conservatism, working for Barry Goldwater in 1964 in Illinois. When some said Phil's politics of small government and low taxes were backward looking, he responded with gusto, arguing in support of free markets and trade, prudent economics policies, a strong national defense, and traditional values. Phil was courageous and had foresight. In 1976 he was the first sitting Congressman to publicly support Reagan in his effort to defeat President Gerald Ford. He also founded the Republican Study Committee, which still exists today in the House of Representatives. He also was deeply involved in the early days of two of the most influential conservative think tanks, the Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Union.…”