[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRESS MUST COME TOGETHER

  (Mr. CAO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CAO. Madam Speaker, I come before the House today to express the 
views of a freshman Congressman whose knowledge and experience of the 
workings of Capitol Hill have spanned a little more than 3 months.
  While I am greatly honored to be a Member of this governing body and 
cherish the friendship and support I have received from my colleagues, 
I would like to use this forum to express a concern: how we operate as 
a governing body.
  Aristotle said, ``Virtue is the mean between two extremes.'' This 
definition of virtuous state of character was appropriate over 2,000 
years ago, and it continues to be true today.
  Virtuous character, properly exercised, is to react to circumstances 
in the appropriate way and to the appropriate degree. I believe that 
we, as Members of Congress, must govern from a political spectrum that 
resonates the mean, and not the two extremes.
  What are these two extremes? Left-wing liberalism, whose governing 
stance simply focuses on the immediate, with little attention to moral 
implications and burdens on future generations, and right-wing 
conservatism, whose rhetoric seeks to inflame rather than inform.
  The future of America is too important for this body to be embattled 
and impeded by radical ideologies and political maneuvering.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Fudge). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I rise to address the House for 1 minute.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas 
is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I would yield my minute to 
my friend from Louisiana.
  Mr. CAO. Thank you very much.
  We must remember who we represent as Members of Congress--the average 
American whose language does not reflect the extremes, but who simply 
asks, how will I pay my bills? How can I raise my children to be 
successful and moral citizens? And how can I worship and express freely 
my religious faith?
  Our public policy today, depending on who is in power, tends to 
reflect a limited political agenda, which gets the country in trouble 
in one manner or another. While history is our mentor, we must look at 
the state of our Nation today and address our shared problems through 
the cumulative knowledge we have acquired as we continue to progress 
and evolve as a Nation.
  Neither liberals nor conservatives can relive their past. We, as a 
governing body, must use all of our knowledge and tools that we have to 
address the problems of a dynamic and evolving national or global 
society in the appropriate way and to the appropriate degree. This, of 
course, requires a delicate balancing act where all Members of Congress 
are invited to the discussion table--and not as liberals or 
conservatives, but as problem solvers there to address the human needs 
of the average American.

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