Ted Poe: “It is the final showdown scene, and while there are no swinging doors or clicking of spurs, eerie signs and sounds of…”

“It is the final showdown scene, and while there are no swinging doors or clicking of spurs, eerie signs and sounds of silence or dust swirling behind me, I stand here today in the people's House to speak probably for the last time. If they would let me cue the soundtrack, the king of country, George Strait, would sing: ``Oh, the last good-bye's the hardest one to say. This is where the cowboy rides away.'' I gave my very first speech as a Member of Congress from Texas on February 1, 2005, after I had come back from Iraq to see their first free elections ever. I went to Iraq, along with Chris Shays, a Congressman from Connecticut. Since that first speech, some might say I haven't shut up, and, well, they are probably right, Mr. Speaker. I spoke, I understand according to the Congressional Record, over 2,000 times in my 14 years serving the good people of the Second Congressional District of the State of Texas--some very well received, I might add. My staff might say, however, some not so much. They have gotten a few calls over the years asking, ``Did your boss really say that?''--more often than not, ``What in the world was he talking about?'' I have probably spoken more about Texas and the way we do things there than anyplace else. You, Mr. Speaker, being from Louisiana, understand how important it is to love where we are from. And I say things a little bit different than folks up here in ``Warshington.'' And, yes, that is ``Warshington'' with an R.…”