[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  TRIBUTE TO THOMAS P. ``TIP'' O'NEILL

                                 ______


                               speech of

                         HON. NORMAN Y. MINETA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 1994

  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, it is with much sadness that I come before 
you to honor a man who was a great leader of this illustrious body, my 
former colleague and friend, the late great Representative from 
Massachusetts, and former Speaker of the House Thomas P. ``Tip'' 
O'Neill.
  The man we called ``Tip,'' who died on January 5 of this year, was 
quite simply one of the most remarkable men I have ever known in public 
life.
  He was a man who made a difference in our world simply by being one 
who never lost the common touch. In a career field where we call 
ourselves ``Representatives,'' and where egos sometimes grow larger 
than the districts we represent, the common touch is essential. Tip 
knew it, and that is why he embodied all that is good in politics.
  In fact, his style was coined in a phrase that will perhaps be his 
legacy: ``All Politics is Local.'' It is the best one line instruction 
manual for public servants I can think of. And I'm sure in time there 
will be a place for Tip in ``Bartlett's Quotations.''
  I am also quite honored to have played a role in one of the few key 
moments in Tip's life when he departed from his dictum.
  I was still a relative newcomer in the House, and had planned a 
district fundraiser with Tip as my honored guest. On that day, Tip 
found out Carl Albert announced plans to retire. Tip believed he had a 
real chance to become Speaker and was ready to announce his plans right 
there. The news gave me an opportunity to assist in arranging his press 
conference. But it also enabled me to be the first member to publicly 
declare my support for Tip.
  Of course, Tip was making his announcement not in Cambridge, MA, but 
in San Jose, CA, the district which I represent. Tip probably would 
have preferred to make the announcement at home, but I'll never forget 
the boost it gave me that day.
  What Tip did for me was certainly not out of character. He was always 
helping when he could.
  In fact, though he became one of the most powerful men in this 
country, he never forgot the people who needed his backing the most, 
the working people of America, and especially Cambridge, MA.
  Tip O'Neill was always the fighter. Always the man who would stand up 
and make us remember the common man. Little wonder then, that Tip 
O'Neill has been eulogized as one of the last of the Great Liberals, a 
Democrat whose policies reflected the Roosevelt-era's New Deal.
  With Tip, the New Deal never got old. And believe me, when Ronald 
Reagan was President the New Deal was practically considered ancient 
history.
  But as the leader of the Democrats, Tip stood his ground on 
principle, and fought for the common good. He never let go of the idea 
that government and politics had a necessary and important role in the 
lives of all citizens; rich and poor, native born or immigrant, Tip 
O'Neill understood that government could not be indifferent to the 
people.
  To paraphrase an old corporate slogan, Tip O'Neill believed with a 
passion the idea of ``better living through government and politics.'' 
He dedicated his own life to that belief, and made us never forget that 
``All politics is local.'' As he passes on, the memory of his exemplary 
life shall keep that ideal alive.

                          ____________________