[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 95 (Friday, June 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        HONORING MICHAEL POTEMRA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PAUL D. RYAN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 8, 2018

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my deepest 
condolences on the passing of Michael Potemra, longtime literary editor 
of National Review Magazine.
  Mike Potemra was a conservative thought leader who served President 
Reagan and three United States Senators--Kasten of Wisconsin, 
Durenberger of Minnesota, and DeWine of Ohio--before joining the 
Editorial Board of National Review in 1999. Mike was a valued and proud 
member of the Reagan Revolution.
  I knew Mike when we worked in Senator Kasten's office together nearly 
30 years ago. Mike's desk was around the corner from the mailroom where 
I started as an intern. He was a speechwriter for Senator Kasten, and a 
masterful one at that. With brilliance and absolute integrity, Mike 
took everyone he worked with to a higher level . . . so much from him.
  Mike loved America and the mobility and economic liberty that America 
embraces. He was born in Youngstown, Ohio to Slovakian immigrants and 
grew up speaking both Slovak and English. His life embodies the 
American Dream: as a child of immigrants, he attended Catholic 
University, Harvard Law School, and served in the White House and the 
U.S. Senate.
  Mike was a profound and dedicated conservative, but he was never 
partisan. He was intellectually curious about everything and embraced 
political discourse as a true American does--always providing people 
with the opportunity to change his mind--which rarely happened.
  On a human level, Mike was a wonderful person with a keen sense of 
humor. More often than not, everyone who visited Mike's desk left with 
a smile and a hearty laugh at his jokes, observations, and uncanny 
impressions of William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, and Jack Kemp.
  Let us take this time to remember Mike's life and service to our 
country, and pray for the people who loved him dearly--his family, 
friends, and colleagues. He was a good man, and a great American.

                          ____________________