Do it who wasnt hampered. And not hampered yet but in august i decided to tell my wife about it and decided to go ahead and retire at the end of december. Ive announced andnd said i was going to do that. The governor of georgia is making appointments take my place. Looking current history, i would never see this again, and i have been here for your 15 years. I have loved every minute of it. This the most the most enjoyable thing that i have done ever my life. Not because i like to be a senator but i like to be with the people in the senate. Sometimes it gives me real bad rep. Those in some of the media and such they see doesnt matter they take pot shots to our politicians. I never do that. Because i have one but because i know that i am one and i know what you have to do. It is a tough job. Its not done and i am making lsure that the last thing thati do is leave the people of georgia good hands. And i am the senior senator from georgia retiring. The members give me a lesson. They saw a lot of my material [laughter] i threw it all away coming in here. [laughter] they stole all my good jokes, and told all of the things i was going to see. But in the end, very brief, my dental and with time, son your words have power behind it. Its actually theta fewer words you use the better. Ive always remembered that and so i use fewer words and more. And i decided that i was going to be outshined by others in the senate, i would do the best i could to honor Mitch Mcconnell who is the greatest leader i have ever worked for your in 45 years. Ies am so proud of him. I can tell all of my grand kids who here by the w way, i would like them to hear speech that i would meet. Sincerely everybody, thank you for your being here. You cant miss tester. [laughter] but everybody else i would miss. Every one of you help us in the lunchroom, the people who help us in thes, stores, standing out of the cars in snowy days and icy cars, everybody helps. It takes a lot of people to run the senate. I want to talk about one subject today. Is going to be short. Theres something missing in this place, im giving credit sometimes are being bipartisan. Somebody says it could be worse and im not going to do that. I am a bipartisan person. Never saw people get done things done, you have to come to an agreement. You cant ever solve a problem if you have two people who wont agree to things. You have to find common ground. You cant pass a law, that is the end of it. If its my way or the huawei, then were all in trouble. So i want to talk about bipartisan. When what really is. I dont say you really know what it is. I shouldnt see that to an educated group of people like this. Youve been through a lot of prizes i have as well. Bipartisan doesnt mean a democrat and republican talk to each other when somehow, it means that two people come togetherab. Probably have differences, a lot he differences. There is a possibility of a solution and they do the things you have to do to get that position. Americans today, has brought people who have found a way to new how to get to the end of that solution. No question about it. I hate to ask this question but given the back b door, is on he. Where john . [laughter] john lewis is one of the finest people ive ever known and a great friend of mine. We were or i was invited to speak for the senate a couple days ago and i recognize john he was there and he introduced me and said something submit more to me than things that anybody has ever said to me. They said i want you to come to tmy last speech, want see a few things about you. Because in essence really, john to a much greater extent than me, but we represent together how things can really change. If people wanted to change, john was born in the 1940s, i was born in the 1940s. John lived in alabama and i lived in georgia for your a while. He came to alabama. He is the good guy. Drinking their any work there and shotgun house. That is where the whole of the front and hold the back. John was a great leader in his youth. H. In thent nonviolent core 90 committee. Wajohn walked the streets of let Atlanta Georgia. I was part of the people who had the signs around georgia. I thought he was running for your office. I never got that figured out until i get a little older. His part of the board of education news decisions. Things been thrown out schools will be integrated, numbers were the only way to prove things. Oso they figured how much of a percentage of how many black people in the number and pence vice a versa. Solving the problem with statistics. I was witness to those buses who took the black students who went to school. We had some really good friends that are black and i still have. And john lewis. So john literally was one of my real heroes in life be so watch what he went through to help us see what was happening. He was a hero. He was a hero to me. I want to go to congress, one of the most things i am most proud of is thee john introduced me to be sworn in. Vice president of the spare house for your man runs down the podium, let me telle you what happened that m morning. The clerk said, this man from georgia it won a special election yesterday in Atlanta Georgia is been declared the winner by the secretary of state. Mr. Lewis escort him to the front. Given one minute to give his success meant beach and will be done. Cynic i was singing one minute. I cant do anything in one minute. But i wasnt going to argue with a guy in first day of work. [laughter] so i went to the back of the room with john and john walked down the aisle on the house site. I was not paying a lot of attention i was just thinking the best thing to do is to follow john. So john got through introduced introducing me, i said thank you everybody and i t need three or four people help me get there. Some going to work. Im honored to be here. They didnt tell me was that if you are in the house, and that particular day, that republicans were on the left. And they spoke to the right. This dummy, follow john who was smart. And to the right where he was exposed to and i went to the left. I was not supposed to be there. I noticed the eyeballs in the front row went up around. In some baby honey said that was a voice came over the back of my shoulder something hanging over my head. I turned around and looked in the southern guy said dont Pay Attention to that. Anyone about his t business. I assume any later, when he mean. And the problem is that you got otlabeled when he got elected. It is what you mean. He said you elected an arab applicant district but they said you said nice things about democrats. And i said is that wrong to do. What we are trying to get somebody somebody not to avoid you to a committee we heard you helped no child left behind. There was a last and how i was started out. Majority Democratic House and i was unwanted. Some of you know this, new law got passed by Seven Members are seven votes. The new guy reelected. Couldnt get it reelected speaker so he resigned. And i didnt know he was going to do that. Kevin got to thehe hotel and the were 72 phone messages for your me. And the guy said im sure that nobody died a year else. You have 72 messages. And i said let me see in the first of the one from my wife. [laughter] i would call her and she sent if you heard, the news clip. He quit as speaker and member of the house and everybody is following him run. Very quickly i learned about partisanship. I did want to have some innate taking its place. He was oh man called yet nose taking over. They want to take very first and on the line of scrimmage. Anyway to make a long story short, politics were pretty rough in those days. And it is rougher now. People voted not with their heads but there ham and a hammer. Not with a heart or their head but with a hammer. And the democrats irrevocably started across predominately see. Youve got the boats coming use them. And we kept getting beach. Or outright all of the time. Or tricked. Contract. This probably does work. Low game plan was enough to be the democrats. I thought that was stupid but i didnt see that. I did want to get run over. So i had a few weeks down the line, i mayday speech on the fourth house. About something very important to me. In my state, and the problem that we had they were stayed divided of rural and urban. The republicans were pretty much urban or rural. In every people were pretty much the suburbs democrats. Things got divided. So they divided up over parties. By the time s it issued, it goto the floor on some kind of compromise but we couldnt pass anything. Because we couldnt get anybody to agree on anything. With the parties across from each other and i decided that if im going to be in this thing, i was about 60 i guess. Im not going to sit here the rest my life arguing. There are some stupid things set over there. You know who they t were. An organization though. I thoughti this was the stupidet stigma. So to make it long story short we had some real bad things happening. And i wanted to be an example. What we need to be like. Bipartisanship meant to me they do its right. I say that is the way to do it. And more twain said when you are confronted with a difficult decision, do what is right. Its a prize if you and amaze the rest. So i started amazing everybody. I voted for your some things, and people were asking me did you get confused. I said no i didnt get confused. The good part of bipartisanship, they come deal with you if they need to deal with you. In the next thing you know you are sitting at the table with a guy. That is the way you build bipartisanship. In this way i it on my own. And going for your my six years in the house of representatives if my 15 years in the United States senate. Try to find the little thing to bring two people together. I never look at the party first. Some people said nice things to me. He said he liked the kindness part he said it was a kind person. My wife might differ with that some other people might differ t. With that but i do try to be a kind person. I want to be the person that youd like to sit down with. And they built everything thate way. So i hope the senate and this congress and all of this in the years ahead, weve got some big problems. Well start having a main goal personally. Were going to do everything we can do to be part of the solutions and decisions that are actually made. If you want to do it, do it. If you figure out and you try to do it, also watch you do it. If you start making decisions and solving problems, you can be more popular than other people. This has brought a popularity contest. But this is mine. Bipartisan shape is the state of mind a state of being. People in the United States and that i work with and i love every day working with them. They have an attitude, and i can sit down with them and if they see no, i stick my tongue out at them. Then ill be there tomorrow and ill ask them to do something for your me. In this way to do something for your somebody is to help them out. Is the quick pro flow. [laughter] again remember that joke. J those of the types of things you have to do. Even at the loophole playing field. So i worse are toen you if you e lewis from georgia summary like that, and he stepped out of his comfort zone, he does things that are right. Even when people sent out your wrong, dont do that. Check your conscious and your heart. Not a commentator. We still have some people who have hate crimes. Politicians, will dance around the issue of hate. They will use the buzzwords but the get awfully close to them. Charlottesville, and other areas. Event people in my house from lawbe enforcement, and the issus get pretty tough. Because scholarship admissions are one of them might be. Weve got to stay on up to the evils of society. If we dont do it, nobody will. I told you tonight when i to really believe. We got problems just like apollo had printed our problem is were not going to repeat ourselves or exist much longer. Within the greatest country in ye face of theirs. There is no place better than the United States of america. Everybody is trying to break in nobody is trying breakout. Theyre all trying to break in. We are the happiest and richest place in the world. We are the best people to protect that, and enough people going into the military on a voluntary basis. Less than 1 percent of our population has served. They make us the strongest defender of freedom and opportunity of anybody in the world. We will lose that, or if we lose it, we will lose our coverage. Standby support in all of the things we love and do. I seeng things happening then amassed about by people that are eonear me. Ive heard some people that i know who said some things that terrified me. We are better than the hate in the same as that some people make. With going to be better than that. We gotta talk to them not around them. Some people see why did you see that what your problem. We have a problem. Lets get it out in the open talk about it. The best country in the world, the strongest country in the world cannot succumb to questioning inwardly. We look the other way from the challenges. The challenges of life today, are is america is changing. I say the solutions are right here. They are in our heart. And im telling you from my heart that after 45 yearsr , raising three children and eight grandchildren which my kids have done a great job in raising them. Leaving in ain Great Community d working and leaving in a great church, i see some of it slipping away. Churches dont have the membership they used to have. And it is significant. I can take a whole lot more tough than they used to be. And i was the chairman of the board of education five years. Things that we all love and believe in, religion in sunday School Things like that. They have the challenges. Whatever life ive got left, because i said im going to leave on december 31st. One because of leaving. No leaving yet. I want to be with you a lot longer than i thought i would because of what im doing. Want to be here for you and want to be here when the val rings. America we dont have a problem anymore. You helped us do it. Policies are of federal policies are educational policies the way we treatwe people. He just dont get back in the ship again. People of the spirit of john lewis, and other people i know in this room who are wheeling to do it. Some who say this is all just a school polygraph, someone he leaving. Dont believe that. I may be back to give you another speech in a private support. Progress. Now as they want talk about is the best thing are the example of me is bipartisanship it means pitcher taken of john lewis last week. My partisanship doesnt mean anything whether it is black or white or could be one black and white. Could be but john is black and white. O john and i were addressing the senate and attribute to me and partly for your everybody else. We had a great time. When john is trying to see change, he mayday beautiful speech. It is very meaningful to me. We know with the buzzwords work. We know we said to make it sound like we were really liberal. We know we were really work. John knew. He knew and he knew the jet he does serve to cover new tenant. He knew what was right what was wrong. So john made this beautiful speech. And this is my time to pay john back. All these years he is help me out. I went to his 75th birthday. I am sunday five and i want to go see what the 75th birthday looks like. It is a marathon. John and i turned out to be very good friends. I told him his speech was the best ive ever heard and i open my arms and hugged him. Now for your a show or display or any purpose, i hugged him because i lovee him. I know what hes done this country right. And when john hugged me and i got very long there for your a minute. It didnt bothernd me. Pete people went crazy. So the best pitcher you can see last week on the popular pitcher in the magazines, was john hugging me and the floor the house. Omtom grace and all the others n the georgia allegation, im sorry didnt call everybodys name out but they all came and said thank you all for your doing that. I hope everybody back in georgia sees that. I said thats what you are going to tell them. Tell them at the luncheon next tuesday. Be seen doing those things that they dont expect to rsee. Were doing what is right for your a change. Topics that need to be do the right thing with. So i tell you that i am big on bipartisanship. Whether you are black oran white or republican or democrat or whatever it might be. Find a way to find common ground. Given the chance to work. And if it doesnt, with future friend. Thus my slogan. When i start my business and people wouldnt buy a house for your me i would take their hands and i would see thank you for your looking with me and the next time i will help you and i will do a better job. They were my future customers and i got some. I got into politics so as you devote for your me, olive got out there in georgia his friends and future friends. So when we walked away from a republican meeting subversively gives me there another fe. And they said were not going to vote for you. I sent you know ill give you another chance in two years. S[laughter] you will be a futue friend. Cute friends and future friends is what its all about. In business or anything else. Treated thatif way. Life is the winwin proposition if youll do it. Baby called liberal will e the problem i will see what happens. Possible call people names and. Figures just make damn sure you dont solve it. The way you live. It will be the end in the beginning of anyone. God bless all of you, and thank you for your support, your friendship. And i will always be there a for you. Thing to church. I dont have a thing else to do. Much. [applause] [inaudible] the senate has set aside their god, is here. Its been about three months since johnny announced hed retire at the end of december. Since then i think weve all been taking stock of everything our dear friend hasg accomplished. And everything he means to so many people. Ive long said that if the senate were to hold a secret ball p
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