Gilbert Gutknecht: “Well, I would have to say it this way, that I was one of those who was not all that eager to go along, and it was guilt…”

“Well, I would have to say it this way, that I was one of those who was not all that eager to go along, and it was guilt that got me to go to Hershey, PA. It may have been the chocolate that kept me there after the first several hours. But I must tell you as the weekend went along it was a very valuable experience, not only for me, but I hope for my colleagues and, most importantly, I think, for the American people. I think that the American people sent us sort of a message in the last congressional elections. What they said in effect was that we want the Republicans to continue to control the House of Representatives and the Senate, but we want President Clinton, the Democrat, to run the executive branch of Government, and we want there to be some checks and balances, but what they also said is they want us to work together as much as we possibly can. And one of the valuable things, I think, that came out of Hershey is we now, all of us who were there at least, have a little better understanding of a sense of history, and if you look at this institution, the House of Representatives, there have been some rather bloody fights on this House floor.”