[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 142 (Wednesday, September 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 WHY LIBERALS ARE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES

  (Mr. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, back home, the crustiest old farmers, 
who are not as conservationist as our generation, deal with endangered 
predators the way liberals have dealt with Medicare.
  Their expression for the easy way out is this: ``Shoot, shovel, and 
shut up.''
  In the same way, Washington liberals--who tried to dismantle the 
health care system one short year ago--today are trying to bury the 
Medicare crisis for political reasons.
  Here is the drill:
  First of all, they shoot. On the air and on the floor, liberals 
attack those working to salvage Medicare, claiming the effort will 
require terrible, draconian measures.
  Second, they shovel. My colleagues know what I mean.
  Liberals float numbers with no basis. They spread misinformation and 
use scare tactics with the flimsiest of evidence.
  Third, they shut up. They refuse to discuss the fact that Medicare is 
going broke.
  The White House strategy of ``Shoot, shovel and shut up'' is 
backfiring as people who know Medicare is going broke see the plan to 
save it as responsible and sound.
  Maybe that is why liberals are an endangered species around here.

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