[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM SPECIAL ELECTION IN MASSACHUSETTS

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the United States Senate special 
election in Massachusetts offers many lessons for both Democrats and 
Republicans. Surely among them are these:
  All true reform starts with the voice of the people.
  Moderation beats extremism.
  Common sense triumphs partisanship.
  Voters can exercise real independence.
  One-party control leads to arrogance.
  There are few guaranteed election results.
  Listen to the people, don't defy them.
  Of course some will say there are no lessons to be learned or that 
the result of this special election should be ignored or can be 
explained away. But those who don't listen to the people, Democrats or 
Republicans, will pay a steep political price.

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