Joe Neal Floor Speech

Joe Neal Floor Speech

I am pleased and honored to speak in favor of this resolution, which helps to
recognize and celebrate the distinguished public service career of Senator Joe Neal. Senator Neal's "larger-than-life" presence has dominated the halls of this legislature for over 30 years. His booming voice on the floor of this chamber will never be equaled. Indeed, Senator Neal is acknowledged by both ally and opponent alike as being the greatest orator in the history of this State. His eloquence derives from his academic knowledge; from his vast experience; and from his compassion for those who will be affected by the actions that we are about to take. When Joe stands to speak, a hush falls over the room. Everyone, including legislators, staff, the press, the lobbyistsin the back, all stop to listen. He speaks from the heart. He fears nothing. He deftly parries any argument and he does not hesitate to attack those who he believes turn a blind eye to injustice. He has moved me to tears on more than one occasion.

Senator Neal is also known as a constitutional scholar. He is an expert onboth the United States and the Nevada Constitutions. Do not engage thisman in a debate about the Founding Fathers or the Federalist Papers. He knows more than any professor I have ever encountered.

Knowledge of the legislative rules is also Senator Neal's forte. I think he has probably committed Mason's Manual to memory. It is impossible to "pull one over" on Joe when it comes to proper procedure. I will never forget the night (and you may remember it too) when the Republicans stormed off the floor. The Democrats remained, and because there had not been a call to adjourn, Senator Neal advised us to call for a quorum. We did that, and the Legislative Police were sent to find a few Republicans who happened to be nearby. I will never forget the sight of Senator Ann O'Connell coming back into the building in her pajamas.

More recently, during the Twenty-first Special Session we were sitting in the Democratic conference room, and the telephone rang. It was Senator Neal, who had been listening to the proceedings on the internet, calling to give advice on how we should have done something differently when it came to procedure.
Had he been here with us, there might have been a different result.

Senator Neal's legislative agenda has always been an ambitious and aggressive one. Whether he was fighting for voting rights or against racial profiling, he has never relented. He has never shied from controversy, and he has never cowered in the face of enormous opposition. Senator Neal is much more than a role model. He is a man who has changed the face of this State. He is a man who has made history. Although he has left the Senate, if we know Senator Neal, he will remain very much involved in public policy issues. He is going to keep calling it as he sees it, un-bought and unbossed.

Senator Neal's shoes are too big to ever fill, but he must feel some sense of gratification that he has left his beloved constituents in the hands of the young and able new senator, Steven Horsford. Joe Neal likes to quote Abraham incoln and used to do it frequently on the Floor. He actually reminds me more of Benjamin Franklin, with a twinkling eye and always an amusing anecdote.

More than that, the reason Joe reminds me of Benjamin Franklin is that Franklin's guiding principle was a dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common man. Few of Franklin's fellow founders felt this kind of comfort with democracy, and few of Senator Neal's colleagues can claim such a proud legacy. We will all be reminded of that legacy every day when we see Senator Neal's picture hanging on the wall. That will have to do until he finishes the book that I hope he is writing to recount the history of Nevada in
recent decades and all the changes he has seen. He has been a major catalyst for many of those changes. Besides, nobody knows where the bodies are buried as well as Senator Neal.

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/titus/docs/JoeNealFloorspeech_04_08_2005.pdf