[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING JOHN KURZWEIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TOM McCLINTOCK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 17, 2010

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of 
John Kurzweil, whose passing is a great loss for California and our 
country. I can only hope that his passion and love for his family, his 
country and life in general will endure among the countless lives he 
touched. It was my privilege to know him, my joy to work with him, and 
today it is my honor to celebrate his life.
  John's longtime friend and colleague Bill Saracino offered a moving 
tribute in John's memory:

                John Kurzweil: The Passing of a Patriot

                         (By William Saracino)

       America lost a true patriot and conservatism lost a fierce 
     warrior and leader on November 9th with the passing of John 
     Kurzweil.
       While known to most as the publisher and editor of the 
     California Political Review magazine, John's political 
     involvement dates to the 1970s and Ronald Reagan.
       Having just graduated from California State University 
     Humboldt, John was appalled at the state of the country and 
     the national Republican Party in 1974-75. Deciding to do 
     something about it, he walked in an office of Young Americans 
     for Freedom, volunteered to help, and worked the rest of his 
     life advancing conservative ideas and strengthening the 
     conservative movement.
       John worked in both the 1976 and 1980 Reagan for President 
     campaigns, as a media writer and spokesman and grassroots 
     college organizer both in California and around the country. 
     His work in 1976 took him to North Carolina, where he became 
     a favorite of Senator Jesse Helms. John returned to the Tar 
     Heel state in 1978 to help in Helms' first re-election 
     campaign.
       1980 also started John's association with State Senator H.L 
     Richardson, who made John the Press Director for the Law and 
     Order Campaign Committee (LOCC). The Committee concentrated 
     on publicizing and campaigning against the ``soft on crime'' 
     philosophy that permeated California's judiciary at the time.
       Before serving a stint as the Communications Director for 
     the California Republican Party, John also was the Editor of 
     Policy Digest for the Heritage Foundation and Senior Editor 
     for the National Catholic Register.
       It was then that he formed the California Public Policy 
     Foundation and started publishing the California Political 
     Review. The magazine has just celebrated its 20th anniversary 
     of providing Republicans and conservatives in California with 
     their only state-based source of news, opinion, practical 
     politics and humor. The magazine became a staple in the 
     Capitol and anywhere in California where politics was the 
     topic.
       Perhaps more important than any of the above, John was a 
     faithful friend, mentor and helper to hundreds of those who 
     have been and are leaders of the GOP and the conservative 
     movement in the state, fulfilling Ronald Reagan's observation 
     that there is no limit to what could be accomplished if you 
     don't care who gets the credit.

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