Tribute To Mitch McConnell
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, it is a privilege today, and really a joy, to rise to join in the celebration of Senator MITCH MCCONNELL and his many terrific years of service to this country and to the people of the State of Kentucky. For those folks who watch from the gallery or watch at home, I will tell you what you see is what you get. He is kind, he is thoughtful, he is calm, he is patient, but I will also tell you he is persistent. You could not have a better friend in the Senate or in this life than MITCH MCCONNELL or his wonderful wife Elaine.
We have heard a bit about the history of Kentucky, we have heard a bit about Wendell Ford, but when you put this into historical perspective and you do the searches and you see who the top names are in Kentucky when it comes to politics, the names that come up are Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln--because he was born in Kentucky--and MITCH MCCONNELL.
Now, Henry Clay was the greatest of the Old Senate Chamber. People who watched the swearing in of the Senators earlier this month saw Senators taking their oath in this Chamber but also going back for a reenactment in the Old Senate Chamber. In that Old Senate Chamber the names were Clay, Calhoun, and Webster. When one of them would rise to speak--and people would come from all around--they would say: Clay is up, Calhoun is up, Webster is up, and people would run. Well, today, the running occurs when people say: MITCH is on the phone; MITCH is calling. You want to know: How can I help? What are his ideas? You know they are good for the country. Henry Clay was called the great compromiser. He was called the great pacifier. Those names were given to him because of his ability to bring others to agreement. The exact same thing can be said of MITCH MCCONNELL in this, the new Senate Chamber.
Now, Mr. President, we left that Old Senate Chamber in 1859 and moved to this beautiful Chamber, and this marks the 150th year of that move. There is actually a little booklet, the ``United States Senate Chamber 1859-2009,'' and it talks about when we left and made the procession. We have heard about some previous Kentucky Senators, but the Senator who gave the speech when we left that Senate Chamber in 1859 was also from Kentucky. It was Senator John Crittenden, and some of his comments are in this booklet.
Well, I will tell you, in the new Senate Chamber, since 1859--now 150 years--MITCH MCCONNELL truly and clearly is the man of the Senate. Just like Henry Clay, he came from humble beginnings. We talk about humble beginnings, but few people know that MITCH MCCONNELL, at the age of 2, had polio. He was nursed back to health by his mother, who helped teach him how to walk and then how to run. It is through her hard work and his dedication and his persistence that he has become the man we know today.
In early November of this past year, George Will wrote an article praising Senator McConnell, but he quoted Abraham Lincoln, when he wrote:
I hope to have God on my side but I must have Kentucky.
I will tell you, Mr. President, for those of us on this side of the aisle, we must have MITCH MCCONNELL. The Senate would just not be the Senate. We have been blessed time after time after time that the people of Kentucky have seen fit to send MITCH MCCONNELL back to the Senate.
In his speech when the Senate moved from the Old Senate Chamber to the new Senate Chamber, Senator Crittenden said:
Senators are the representatives of the States of this mighty union. No matter under what sky we may sit; no matter what dome may cover us; the great patriotic spirit of the Senate of the United States will be there and I have an abiding confidence that it will never fail in the performance of its duty.
Well, Mr. President, this applies to Senator McConnell because his great patriotic spirit will always be here, and those who know him have an abiding confidence that he will never fail in the performance of his duty.
Mr. President, Senator McConnell is a champion. He is a champion for Kentucky and he is a champion for America; for a stronger America, a better America, a safer America, and an America where any boy or girl can, through hard work and persistence, grow up to be a leader of this great Nation.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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