[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 16 (Thursday, January 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E194-E195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           A MATTER OF CHARACTER: THE VIEW FROM THE IRON RANGE

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                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 26, 1995
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, on January 4 the House of Representatives 
welcomed its new majority. The event marked a political sea-change in 
the leadership of the House.
  I would like to submit to you an editorial that ran in my hometown 
newspaper, the Chisholm, MN, Free Press, circulation 3,100. Its 
publisher, Veda Ponikvar, holds the distinction of being the first 
woman newspaper publisher in the State of Minnesota. I have known Veda 
all my life, and have always respected her insight, her wisdom and her 
articulate advocacy of the values we share as Minnesotans, and 
Americans.
  I commend to you, my colleagues, a view of Washington from 
Minnesota's Iron Range.
                  [From the Free Press, Jan. 10, 1995]

                        Character Is Moral Order

       The great hope of any society is individual character. One 
     must look into people as well as at them for Character is the 
     diamond that scratches every other stone.
       Character is moral order seen through the medium of an 
     individual nature. In Character there is also unselfish 
     leadership with the stamp on our souls of the free choice of 
     good or evil we have made through life. Therefore, Character, 
     like porcelain ware, must be printed before it is glazed. 
     There can be no change after it is burned in.


                      a shining, spotless example

       The noblest contribution which any man or woman can make 
     for the benefit of posterity is that of a good character. The 
     richest bequest of posterity is that of a good character. The 
     richest bequest which any man or woman can leave to the youth 
     of their native land is that of a shining, spotless example.
       We have in the Congress of the United States a man in the 
     personality of Newt Gingrich, who for over a decade has lived 
     off of the American taxpayer. For the services rendered, he 
     also has enjoyed a host of perks, including a very lucrative 
     and all-inclusive health plan. He did little to institute 
     some sort of national health bill that would lessen the 
     burdens and worries of the electorate. He now is the Speaker 
     of the House, a position that most men earn by integrity, 
     selfless dedication, and humility.
       What a sick, ugly example he has set for the Youth of this 
     nation with his despicable assessment of The First Lady, 
     Hillary Clinton. In public as well as in private, those 
     elected to office and entrusted with the responsibilities of 
     governing our nation, need to watch their language; be 
     gentlemen and gentle ladies at all times; and give to the 
     nation a luster of excellence and propriety.
       That Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Gingrich are poles apart 
     politically has nothing to do with proper manners and the 
     decency to respect the highest office in the land. Mrs. 
     Clinton is no neophyte in the area of governance. She is an 
     accomplished attorney; has a brilliant mind, and above all, a 
     desire to make life a little easier for the poor, the sick, 
     the aged, and the impoverished. The nation didn't see one 
     Newt Gingrich serving the homeless during the Thanksgiving 
     Holiday. But Mrs. Clinton was there, serving those less 
     fortunate. She deserves an A for effort on many fronts. We 
     cannot say the same for Mr. Gingrich.
       [[Page E195]] To his credit is The Contract which he waves 
     around as if it were the saving formula for the people of the 
     United States. Take a walk, Sir, across this beautiful land 
     of ours and see for your self how people work, live and 
     exist. They do with what they have, which in many instances 
     is very
      meager. You now propose to look into the Social Security and 
     Medicare areas to soup up funds for your proposals that 
     you feel must be enacted under The Contract. You won't 
     find the very rich and the affluent working in the mines, 
     the taconite plants, the forests, the farmlands, the 
     fisheries, or the highways of this country. It will be an 
     education, but strangely enough, those issues are not in 
     The Contract.
       The Lady of Character and compassion is inviting you to the 
     White House for dinner. You need to apologize to her, to the 
     President, and to the citizens of this nation, and above all, 
     to the young people, who have hopes and visions of, someday 
     serving this nation.
       As you continue your mission, Mr. Gingrich, don't take from 
     the poor to make the rich richer. Take heed, that Character 
     is the product of daily, hourly actions and utterances; words 
     and thoughts; daily forgivenesses, unselfishness, kindnesses, 
     sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others, 
     struggles against temptation, submissiveness under trial; and 
     Humility, for your good fortune to be Speaker of the House in 
     the greatest nation on earth. It is all these, like the 
     blending colors in a painting, or the blending notes of music 
     which constitute The Man.
     

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