On the recordFebruary 24, 2010
Madam Speaker, out of respect for Jack, I will be very brief. Great American, great patriot, but for me he was a friend. He was my buddy. The truth is, he was my buddy not because we shared a philosophical view--we probably disagreed on more than we agreed on--but because we respected each other. In my world, the best thing you can say about anybody is he didn't forget where he came from. Jack never forgot. He represented working men and women to the utmost. Even when we disagreed, his motivation was pure. He was the epitome of a politician. He liked helping people. I disdain politicians who think that we won't or that we shouldn't help people. That's what we are here for. Jack knew that from the day he got here to the day he left. He was my friend. I'm going to miss him. I think America will miss him, but I will miss him. Jack, I will tell you that I am not looking forward to it, but when my day comes I'm going to be looking you up. My hope is that you'll be up there with a whole bunch of the good old boys and hopefully you'll welcome me then as you welcomed me when I got here. I'm going to miss you, Jack. ____________________





