Todd Tiahrt: “the 13th amendment of our Constitution says, ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United…”

“the 13th amendment of our Constitution says, ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States.'' Today we take that for granted, and for that I am thankful. It is still our standard, our ideal. But the 13th amendment only came to be the law of the land because of the insistence and persistence of a group of Republicans that were called radical. Radical Republicans. Well, Mr. Speaker, today those who are protectors of big government and big unions are criticizing new ideas by calling the Republicans radical, extreme, mean-spirited, in hopes of swinging public opinion in their favor. They do not trust people to choose their own schools. That threatens the big teachers unions, so they call school vouchers radical. They oppose IRS reform because they believe taxpayers should be automatically guilty in an IRS tax audit because big government must be funded, so IRS reform is extreme. Mr. Speaker, remember, when we hear ``radical,'' ``extreme'' or ``mean-spirited,'' it is not new. Radical Republicans insisted on abolishing slavery and today these derogatory words are just ushering in a better America of more choice, more freedom, and more liberty.”