On the recordNovember 2, 2011
Just a quick note to the gentleman from Virginia. As we're talking about ``why this hill''--and I think you mentioned the hill being so high and so hard to climb--there might be people at home watching right now, maybe even some in this Chamber right now, who are wondering: Why would this be so difficult? We had others come up and say they had a telephone town hall where over 80 percent of their constituents were in favor of this. Why is this so hard? We have to think of it this way: There are two groups of constituents, and we can't appease both sets all the time. There is a constituency that's the here and now that will ensure that, if we do things they want, they'll give us another election; they'll let us serve longer. Yet there is another constituency that doesn't even exist yet. No matter what we do, we won't be around for them to reward us. I would just suggest that everyone here in this House of Representatives serve that latter constituency: our kids, our grandkids, those who don't even exist yet. Vote for them to make sure that we keep the Republic. For those of you who are watching, make sure you tell your Representatives, Hey, I want you to vote, not for me, not so that I can have more on my plate now; I want you to vote for our future. If the people of this country demand that of their Representatives and their Senators, we will keep the Republic as Franklin demanded.
