[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CHEAP POLITICS AT THEIR VERY WORST

  (Mr. HEFNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFNER. Mr. Speaker, I have been in politics for a long, long 
while and I have been in tough campaigns when the rhetoric was very, 
very high but there is something that came to my attention tonight that 
was issued by the Republican National Committee, and the last paragraph 
says if Democrats want to block this motion so they can get a raise, so 
be it, said the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder), but by tomorrow I 
guarantee every newspaper in their district will know about it.
  I would not even bring this up but a few months ago my sister-in-law 
died after a 3-year battle with cancer, and I had an excused absence 
from this House, and there was a vote that was taking place and a press 
release sent to my district accusing me of making a bad vote, it was 
bad for my constituents.
  It only takes 10 seconds to check this computer to see if people are 
here. You have no guarantee that there will not be a press release in 
your newspaper whether you are even here or voting or not. This is 
cheap politics at its very, very worst, and I abhor it to the nth 
degree.

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