[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HAS THE PRESIDENT BECOME A REPUBLICAN?

  (Mr. HOKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, I say to my colleagues, ``Don't get excited, 
everyone. I don't want to cause any parliamentary problems here today, 
and I certainly don't intend to impugn anyone's motives or integrity, 
but after listening to the President's speech last night, I have to ask 
the question that all of America wants to know: Has the President 
become a Republican?''
  Mr. Speaker, some in the Chamber might not take kindly to that label, 
but to most of us we consider it to be a badge of honor, and I say to 
my colleagues, ``If you've read recent polls, it appears that, as the 
President has, the American people are demanding the same Republican 
principles of smaller, less costly government, greater individual 
freedom based on personal responsibility.''
  That is exactly what the President embraced last night, and that is 
exactly the premise of our Republican Contract With America. Mr. 
Speaker, it is good to see the President has joined with a majority of 
the voters in supporting the Republican agenda. We are the party of 
forgive and forget, and we welcome him to our cause.




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