[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RADICAL REPUBLICANS PAVE WAY FOR BRIGHTER AMERICAN FUTURE

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Madam Speaker, during the American Reconstruction period 
from 1865 through 1877, there was a group of visionaries who were 
called radical Republicans. They wanted African-Americans to have full 
citizenship. These radical Republicans were for changes in society and 
in government.
  Those who criticized the Republicans were the defenders of the status 
quo, and that is, once again, the situation today. Republicans are once 
again being called radical, extremists, mean-spirited by the defenders 
of the status quo.
  Why? Because it is Republicans who want to change government; who 
want to reform the IRS; who want to give back citizens their 
constitutional right of innocence until proven guilty, instead of being 
guilty until they prove themselves innocent in an IRS tax audit.
  Madam Speaker, that is the vision of today's radical Republicans. It 
is not extreme or heartless. It is just common sense. So when my 
colleagues hear those words, ``extreme,'' ``mean-spirited,'' 
``radical,'' remember once again the so-called radical Republicans 
paving the way for a brighter future for everyone here in America.

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