Tribute to Former President Ronald Reagan

TRIBUTE TO FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as the whole world knows by now, America and the world lost a great man, Ronald Reagan, last Saturday. After battling Alzheimer's disease for the last 10 years, he finally succumbed and left this life for the next.

This week, in this Senate, on television, in the newspapers, and all around the world we will hear people talking of their memories of this great man and what a difference he made in this country and to freedom-loving people all around the world. I offer a few of my own comments in that regard out of respect for him and his family and the great example he was for all who believe in freedom, hope, and opportunity.

Ronald Reagan, perhaps during his entire political career, was underestimated. He was written off by some as an actor or by some as a nice man but maybe not particularly effective. Because he was a man of good humor who loved a good joke, some thought he could not and should not be taken seriously.

The fact is, Ronald Reagan demonstrated for everyone how a serious person-that is, someone who believes deeply in their principles, indeed in the principles upon which this country was founded, and who is willing to put themselves out in the public domain and to argue and fight, sometimes to lose but sometimes to win, in advocacy of those principles-Ronald Reagan reminded us that a good man, indeed a kind human being, a gentle person, a loving husband and father, can also survive in this sometimes difficult, some might even say ugly, world of electoral politics.

In many ways, his death gives another reason to remember that politics today seems in many ways to become personal, so adversarial. Indeed, it need not be. There is no reason why individuals cannot disagree about public policy and differing points of view. There is no reason they cannot do that without becoming personal and hurtful.

I believe it was Margaret Thatcher who once said that a person who reverts to name-calling simply has run out of anything else to say. Indeed, what we ought to be focused on is the policies we believe are in the best interests of the American people and avoid the sort of personal acrimony and hurt which too often seems a characteristic of our modern politics.

Ronald Reagan taught us you can be a successful politician, you can rise to the greatest heights in our system-indeed, to be the leader of the free world-and still keep your good humor, still treat every person with dignity and respect, and still show the milk of human kindness to others.

The one thing that made Ronald Reagan such an attractive person in public life was his basic principles. Indeed, there are some who underestimated him his entire political career. What they failed to appreciate was the power of his convictions and the ideals for which he stood. One of those convictions was putting people first. Ronald Reagan said putting people first has always been America's secret weapon. It is the way we have kept the spirit of our revolution alive, a spirit that drives us to dream and dare, and to take great risks for a greater good.

I know Ronald Reagan has been touted as a great man. I believe he was a great man. But he never considered himself to be a great man, merely a man committed to great ideas.

He also was sometimes criticized for being too much of a dreamer, but he made no apologies about that. He said:

There's no question I am an idealist, which is another way of saying I am an American.

But when I think of the policies of the Reagan administration and the successes of what some have called the "Reagan Revolution," but which I think in many ways was not revolutionary as much as it was a restoration of our basic principles upon which this country was founded, I think of the fall of communism and the subsequent liberation of tens of millions of people who had known nothing other than oppression and tyranny and dictatorship, and, also, the resurgence of the American economy.

First, so far as his role in the fall of communism, although he was a genial, friendly, humor-loving optimist, he was a hardnosed realist when it came to the terrible impact and consequences of communism on people across this globe. Indeed, he knew it was important for us to maintain a strong military and made no apologies when it came to the importance of peace through strength, not going hat in hand to our allies or our enemies asking them to do us a favor but recognizing that America has a unique role in the world as the one remaining superpower, after the fall of the Soviet Union, and recognizing the failure of communism as an alternative to freedom and democracy.

But it was, in large part, his commitment to rebuilding our military and peace through strength and hardnosed negotiating across the conference table with various opponents of our country and leaders of other countries that caused freedom to reign for tens of millions of people who had never known freedom due to the fall of communism.

The other thing he believed in was the freedom here at home. He believed that big government was the enemy of individual freedom, and that if, in fact, we were going to be able to continue to enjoy the kind of prosperity and opportunity that has been synonymous with America, we needed to get a handle on big government. Indeed, when Ronald Reagan became President, it is hard to believe now, but the highest marginal income tax rate was 70 percent. By the time he left office, it was 28 percent. Today it stands at 35 percent.

But Ronald Reagan understood, as all Americans understand-all folks outside of Washington especially understand-that in order to grow the economy you do not tax it more, you cut taxes, because only then can you provide the incentive for the individual American worker to work hard, save their money, invest their money, perhaps in their small business, and then create jobs and opportunity for others who may not have those jobs or that opportunity. It was by growing the economy, by providing that incentive for work and investment and savings and risk taking that we have all been the beneficiaries of
that new economic freedom was brought in, in modern times, by Ronald Reagan's leadership.

Most of all, I think my memories of Ronald Reagan center around his call for us to believe in ourselves once again, to believe in America again, and believe in the ideals we all identify with this great country of ours. America is different from virtually every other country in the world in that it was founded on ideals, on an ideal of liberty and justice for all, something not shared by any other country in the world that was formed or based on history or collective experience. But, of course, our country was formed on the basis of these ideals, and Ronald Reagan believed in them fervently and, more importantly, he fought for them, even against those who suggested that perhaps it was not possible for America to be great again.

There were those who suggested that somehow America's greatest days were behind us. Ronald Reagan never believed that. He always believed America's greatest days lay ahead of us. And indeed they do, even today.

He understood and preached, perhaps better than anyone, that big government and high taxes are the enemy of individual freedom, that smaller government and lower taxes would be an incentive to work and savings.

I mentioned a moment ago his belief in the individual initiative of risk takers, of entrepreneurs, of those who would take the risks, make the investment, and create jobs for the American people. At one point he said:

Too often entrepreneurs are forgotten heroes. We rarely hear about them. But look into the heart of America, and you will see them. They are the owners of that store down the street, the faithful who support our churches, schools, and communities, the brave people everywhere who produce our goods, feed a hungry world, and keep our homes and families warm while they invest in the future to build a better America.

Now, those who only saw the genial, friendly, humor-loving side of Ronald Reagan did not know the entire man. As I mentioned, behind that genial countenance was a man of strong principle and a man as tough as they come. For example, when the air traffic controllers defied a back-to-work order, he fired them, emphasizing the fact that the greater good is always paramount and more important than special interests.

Of course, he survived an assassin's bullets with great humor, telling his wife, "Honey, I forgot to duck," and expressing to his physicians, the ones who saved his life in the emergency room: "I hope you're all Republicans."

With every fearsome challenge he encountered in life, he met it with good humor, humanity, kindness, and optimism in a way that inspired and continues to inspire the American people, which, to me, will be one of his greatest legacies.

He also taught us that politics can be a noble calling. Unfortunately, today, it seems that is forgotten too often and people ask: How in the world can you be involved in politics and be a good person? How can you believe in doing the right thing and be involved in politics since it is all about getting reelected and raising money and a fight for power? But, indeed, Ronald Reagan exemplified the fact that a good person, with strong convictions, committed to great ideals and the principles upon which this country was founded, can be successful in life and in politics, which, indeed, he was as the leader of the free world.

Mr. President, as the Nation grieves with his family, we also celebrate the life of this great man, a quintessential American whose hopes and dreams knew no bounds.

Ronald Reagan loved America, and America loved him back.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.