[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       HONORING MORTON BLACKWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ERIC CANTOR

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 1, 2009

  Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a true champion of 
the conservative movement, Morton Blackwell, who just celebrated his 
70th birthday.
  I have known Morton since the days when he attended meetings in my 
parents' living room, planning how we would advance the conservative 
cause in Virginia. We realized the fruits of those talks during the 
Reagan Revolution in the 1980s, when Virginia--and Morton Blackwell--
led the way.
  Morton's life thus far has been a testament to the kind of man he is. 
There is a list of rules that Morton has developed, entitled the Laws 
of the Public Policy Process, which I always keep close at hand. One of 
my favorites is number 10, which simply states: ``Sound doctrine is 
sound politics.'' Morton lives and teaches by this rule. He has 
dedicated his adult life to serving on the front lines of all the major 
battles in our nation to ensure that faith, family, and freedom always 
prevail. I would venture to say that much of Morton's success is due to 
the fact that he has had a key partner in these efforts in his wife 
Helen, the president of the Virginia chapter of the Eagle Forum.
  In addition to his birthday, Morton also celebrated the thirtieth 
anniversary of the Leadership Institute. Morton founded LI in 1979 for 
the sole purpose of teaching conservatives to win. His approach wasn't 
to sit on the sidelines and analyze policy, as important as that may 
be. Instead, his strategy was to train people to actually influence 
that very policy by directly participating in it, through activism and 
leadership. The more than 76,000 students who have been mentored by 
Morton are now spread throughout the country, in arenas ranging from 
grassroots organizations to campaigns at every level to elected office. 
I don't believe there's a doubt in anyone's mind that Morton has 
trained more political activists than any other conservative.
  This outreach didn't start with the founding of LI, though. Decades 
before that, Morton worked with fellow Republicans as a leader of 
College Republicans, and then of local and state Republican party 
chapters. In a role that any conservative would envy, Morton's hard 
work and dedication earned him a job as Special Assistant to President 
Reagan. At nearly 70 years old, Morton still demonstrates the energy 
and activity of a young man, serving the boards of at least six major 
conservative organizations, and frequently writes widely published 
pieces on a variety of conservative issues.
  As in the times when I first met Morton, conservatives have recently 
had plenty of reasons to feel discouraged. Morton's rules, however, 
also tell us to ``remember it's a long ball game.'' Keeping in mind 
that the game is not yet over, we continue to fight. I was proud to 
stand next to Morton on the stage one month ago, as we celebrated Bob 
McDonnell's election as the next governor of the state we call home. As 
I said on that same stage, the conservative resurgence begins now, and 
it begins in Virginia. Americans everywhere can thank Morton Blackwell 
for that.

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