[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14532]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR TED STEVENS

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise to join in this body's hearty 
congratulations to our colleague from Alaska, Mr. Stevens, as the 
longest serving Republican Senator. The remarkable thing about Ted 
Stevens is not the number of years he has served but the amount of 
service he has put into those years.
  The Founders did a unique thing when they created the Senate. They 
knew that democracy should both let the majority rule most of the time 
but also protect minority viewpoints from the tyranny of the majority. 
They created a House of Representatives based on proportional 
representation. Meanwhile, in the Senate, they gave every State, large 
and small, exactly two votes. They then went a step further, and 
created the Senate as a body that operates by consensus. The result is 
a place where one person with a good idea can impact the entire body.
  Ted Stevens is a living embodiment of the wisdom of our Founding 
Fathers. He is precisely the kind of Senator they hoped for: forceful, 
persevering, principled and indefatigably devoted to his State's 
interests.
  Alaska is a unique State and Senator Stevens reflects its style and 
unlimited potential exceptionally. In every aspect, Alaska is a long, 
long way from Washington, DC, and its unusual bureaucratic culture. We 
all benefit from the independent, self-reliant spirit of Alaska that 
the Senator brings, reminding us of the pioneer heritage of the West. I 
am personally appreciative of the Senator's hospitality when visiting 
in his home State. I thought we had ``wide open spaces'' in Minnesota, 
but Alaska's are certainly both wider and more open.
  When President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, William Seward, 
finalized the purchase of Alaska, it was thought to be a folly. How 
blessed we all are as Americans to have its abundant wilderness and 
natural resources as part of our national experience.
  I have found that when people want to learn something really 
important, they prefer an example to an explanation. As I have tried to 
learn my way around this institution, Senator Stevens has been a role 
model, an example, and a friend. I thank him for his kindness.
  But even more I thank him for his service which has made this Nation 
safer, stronger and freer for all. He makes his great State and all his 
colleagues proud to say they know Ted Stevens.

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