[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMARKS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, it has been a true privilege for Betty Ann 
and me to represent Tennessee's 8th district in this chamber for the 
past 22 years, and we will always be grateful to the people of west and 
middle Tennessee who have given us the chance to do so. We now look 
forward to the transition from our role in Congress to that of private 
citizens, often said to be the highest office in our country.
  Following the Constitutional Convention, Madam Speaker, a citizen 
asked Benjamin Franklin what that important body had created, and he 
replied, ``A republic, if you can keep it.'' At the heart of this 
governmental model, public officials represent first and foremost the 
people who elect them.
  I worry that our government is in danger of becoming more of a 
parliamentary system, where elected officials represent first and 
foremost their political parties. That is not what our founding fathers 
intended when they established this great nation, and it is not the 
right approach for our nation going forward.
  The American people, by and large, do not reside in the extreme left 
wing or in the extreme right wing. They are solution-minded citizens 
who want their elected representatives to work together to address the 
problems that face us as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans.
  Unfortunately, the current political system, especially following 
decades of partisan gerrymandering with more to come in the year ahead, 
does little to incentivize such cooperation. Consequently, the 
political center in our representative government has been decimated, 
resulting in a great disservice to the American people.
  Many of us certainly understand and share the angst the American 
people feel in a time of economic uncertainty, two wars, a seemingly 
insurmountable federal debt and ongoing concerns over homeland 
security.
  These are complex problems that cannot be solved with bumper-sticker 
solutions, over-simplified soundbites and combative rhetoric. They 
require cooperation among thoughtful individuals who will put their 
district and country first.
  To address these problems and restore the faith in our republic, 
those inside and outside government must be willing to extend to one 
who disagrees the same purity of motive and intellectual honesty one 
claims for oneself.
  That is necessary, Madam Speaker, if we are to keep our republic.

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