Sam Brownback: “I rise to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan, my political guiding light. I came to Congress on the second Reagan wave in the…”

“I rise to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan, my political guiding light. I came to Congress on the second Reagan wave in the 1994 election, when Republicans took over the House of Representatives. Many of us were raised on Ronald Reagan. His was my first Presidential campaign in 1976, when I was still a student at Kansas State University. I was riding in a tractor in Kansas when I heard the Evil Empire speech. I started pounding on the dashboard, saying: That is right, that is right. Then all the pundits came on afterward and said how terrible it was. I was a bit confused but decided Reagan was right and the pundits were wrong. He went on to prove that. He was a great contributor to our time and our legacy. I only had the pleasure of meeting Ronald Reagan once. I was a White House fellow in the Bush 1 White House. We met him in southern California. People had always given examples of his legendary humor. This meeting was no exception. We were having a meeting for a period of time, and then one of the people with whom I was traveling asked him a question: What one thing didn't you get done as President that you wish you had gotten done. I think he had heard this question before and he had given this line before, but he tilted his head back, and you could see the glint in his eye and the smile comes across the face, and he said: I wished I had brought back the cavalry.…”