[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 68 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   WELCOMING THE HONORABLE RON LEWIS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. ROGERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, colleagues, I have a most pleasant task 
today, as I, along with the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Bunning] and 
the other members of the Kentucky delegation, present to you, Mr. 
Speaker, the winner of the historic special election in Kentucky, in 
District 2, last Tuesday, a remarkable young man, Ron Lewis.
  Mr. Speaker, this election was more than a special election. It was a 
very special election.
  Twelve days ago, 10 days before the election, only 1 person in 10 in 
the Second District of Kentucky recognized the name Ron Lewis. None in 
10 even expected that he could win. ``There is not even a race,'' they 
said. The race had been conceded to his opponent. After all, a person 
of this man's party had never won that seat in the history of the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky. It had been conceded by the gentleman from 
Kentucky [Mr. Lewis], by the media, the political parties, the 
political pundits, the general public, by everyone.
  Then, Mr. Speaker, with exquisite timing, just 10 days before the 
election, this man found a theme that ignited a spark in the public's 
awareness, and in a sensational 10-day campaign the sparks grew and 
grew until it became a white-hot flame so attractive that last Tuesday 
this unknown underdog of a few days ago was lifted by those voters into 
the national spotlight with an astounding 10-point win.
  Shakespeare certainly must have had this man in mind when he wrote of 
the tide of which taken at its height inevitably leads to victory. Ron 
is the first of his party to ever have been elected to Congress from 
the Second Congressional District.
  Mr. Speaker, when the gentleman from Kentucky took the oath of office 
a few minutes ago, he gave his party's delegation in the Congress from 
Kentucky the highest proportion ever in its history. For the first time 
in Kentucky's long and storied history the State's delegation will be 
evenly distributed between the two parties.
  Today Ron Lewis' name is on the lips of every Second District 
Kentuckian. His name is on the lips of all Kentuckians and of most 
political pundits nationally, especially in this town, even in the 
White House. The issues he raised and which became instantly so 
compelling undoubtedly will resound all over America this season. 
Because they were so persuasive in Kentucky, they will be persuasive 
most everywhere. The Ron Lewis white-hot flame may become even hotter 
as the next few months flow by.

                              {time}  1030

  On election night, Mr. Speaker, as the hearty and by now euphoric 
supporters of Ron gathered in the headquarters in Elizabethtown to 
watch became deliciously to them a night when the impossible dream came 
true, they tell me that the campaign workers' theme song could be heard 
for miles around, and you can almost hear it today off the walls of 
this great Chamber, and now even coast to coast. The song was: ``Do, 
Ron, Ron. Do, Ron, Ron.''
  Ron Lewis is a lifelong Kentuckian. He hails from the same county 
that gave Abraham Lincoln to the ages. He is a man from middle America.
  I think he would want me to mention first off that he is a minister 
of the gospel, that he is married to a lovely and loving wife, Kay, and 
they have two wonderful children, Ronald Brent and Allison Faye. We are 
not allowed to mention galleries in this body, but I am told that 
perhaps if one could, you would find his lovely wife sitting in the 
gallery just there.
  And, of course, his daughter, Allison, held the Bible as Ron was 
sworn into office this morning.
  He holds a master's degree in education. He is a small businessman. 
He and his wife own and operate a religious bookstore in Kentucky, and 
this is Ron Lewis' first elective office.

  With these qualities, no wonder he found himself in such common cause 
with so many of his fellow Kentucky citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to introduce and present to the Members 
now a man you have already met and, I think, already grown to love, the 
Congressman from Kentucky's Second District, Ron Lewis.

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