[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 74 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3407-S3408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HUBERT HUMPHREY CENTENNIAL

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I would first like to thank the Senator 
from Oklahoma, Mr. Coburn, for allowing me to take a few minutes to 
speak about something very important in my State--the fact that 
tomorrow would be Hubert Humphrey's 100th birthday.
  Hubert Humphrey was our ``Happy Warrior'' in Minnesota. He was the 
son of a smalltown South Dakota drugstore owner who lifted himself up 
through hard work and determination to become the mayor of Minneapolis, 
a U.S.

[[Page S3408]]

Senator representing Minnesota, and the 38th Vice President of the 
United States of America.
  I actually have Hubert Humphrey's desk--something I requested when I 
got to the Senate. It somehow got in a different category, and for the 
first 2 years I had the desk of the former Senator from New Hampshire, 
Gordon Humphrey. But then, lo and behold, with the start of this last 
Congress, I did get Hubert Humphrey's desk.
  I was a senior in high school when Hubert Humphrey passed away, and I 
can still remember standing in line for his funeral in St. Paul. It was 
January, and it was one of those days where it was below zero--
freezing. Yet there we were, standing outside the State capitol, all of 
us in our puffy winter jackets, 40,000 people waiting to pay our 
respects. That is how much Hubert Humphrey was loved in our State, 
loved enough for people to stand outside for hours in the dead cold of 
a Minnesota winter.
  I can honestly say that Humphrey had an enormous impact on my own 
views of public service. You can go down the list of landmark Federal 
legislation in the past 60 years, and his fingerprints are all over 
them--civil rights, Medicare, nuclear arms control, the Peace Corps, 
the list goes on and on. Hubert Humphrey's impact continues to be felt 
in our State.
  Humphrey was a compassionate man, but he was no pushover. He never 
backed down from a fight worth fighting. When he was asked to speak at 
the Democratic National Convention in 1948, he dove headfirst into one 
of the most controversial topics at the time--racial inequality. It was 
a gutsy move, especially considering how divisive civil rights issues 
were for the Democratic Party. And let's not forget that as a 37-year-
old mayor of Minneapolis--and the Presiding Officer can relate to this 
as a former mayor himself--Humphrey's political career was just getting 
off the ground. He had a lot to lose. But he was convinced that 
segregation and Jim Crow were hurting our country, and he was 
determined to challenge the status quo on the national stage even if it 
meant risking his political career. That was Hubert Humphrey.
  I think the last, most important thing to point out about Hubert 
Humphrey is that he was above all things an optimist. To this day, the 
Senate, according to our colleagues, has never seen anyone quite like 
him--bursting with energy, idealism and hopefulness, a happy warrior.
  I have a picture of the ``Happy Warrior'' hanging in my front office, 
and it hangs there in a visible place for a good reason. It is because 
I am convinced that now more than ever our Nation needs a good dose of 
the hope and optimism that defined Hubert Humphrey's life.
  The truth is, we have to go back decades to find a time when we were 
confronted with so many challenges--two difficult wars, a crushing debt 
load, and our quest to end our dependence on foreign oil and develop 
our own homegrown energy. The way we choose to address these challenges 
will determine the course of our Nation for decades to come. History 
will tell us whether we are right or wrong, timid or courageous.
  I believe we must choose courage, but not only that, we must also 
choose optimism. We must take a page from Hubert Humphrey's book and 
strive for that resilience he displayed in public life. I think about 
the inscription on his gravestone at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. 
It is a quote from Humphrey himself:

       I have enjoyed my life, its disappointments outweighed by 
     its pleasures. I have loved my country in a way that some 
     people consider sentimental and out of style. I still do. And 
     I remain an optimist with joy, without apology, about this 
     country and about the American experiment in democracy.

  These are words that resonate today, words that remind us of the 
amazing life and legacy of a man who did so much for the causes of 
justice, democracy, and accountability. America is a better place for 
his leadership, and that is why we honor him today.
  Mr. President, I again thank my colleague from Oklahoma for allowing 
me to put in these good words for Senator Humphrey.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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