All for one, and one for -- hey!

Another Hat, Another Ring

By Rick Horowitz

The election results of November 3rd were a great disappointment to many of us. Instead of increasing our majority in the House of Representatives as we expected to do, we actually lost seats, and our ability to maintain Republican control of both houses of Congress is now in serious jeopardy.

This situation cries out for decisive action. The excuses and cliches of the past are no longer enough -- it is time for new excuses and new cliches.

Therefore, I am announcing today my candidacy for Associate Vice Deputy Chair of the House Republican Caucus. While this position is only 11th on the Republican leadership ladder, I believe it is a key position nonetheless, and one where I can make a real difference for my party and my country. It is also the highest-ranking position I have any chance of winning.

In putting my name before my fellow Republicans, I am not running against anyone; I am running for the office. I have no dearer colleague in all of Congress than Curt Withringaze. When I first came to Washington, Curt took me under his wing, as he has done with so many freshman members over the years. He taught me the value of hard work and dedication to principle and, above all, loyalty. Without his help, many of us would not even be here today. I'm proud to call him "friend," just as I'm proud to call him "father-in-law."

But I want his job.

This solemn decision was not an easy one. In fact, as I told Larry King the other day, I spent many sleepless nights on my living-room couch, agonizing over what I should do. But then I finally realized: Everyone else is running for something, why shouldn't I?

Our party stands at a crossroads. While a bold vision may once have been useful to put us in charge of things, what we need most right now are leaders who can make the trains run on time -- otherwise, people might get hit by the trains while they're standing at the crossroads.

When I was growing up, I had the best set of trains in my whole neighborhood, and they never crashed except when I did it on purpose. I believe this valuable experience will serve me well in a leadership position. Also, as a longtime advocate of constant grooming, I have one of the freshest faces on our side of the aisle.

What else have we learned from our recent problems?

I believe the main reason we lost ground this year was that we failed to articulate a clear message to the voters. Without a clear message, the American people didn't see why they should vote for us over the Democrat party. On the other hand, it hasn't always been easy to come up with a message acceptable to all the factions within our own party.

So I propose this message to my fellow Republicans, and to voters all across the nation: "We Have a Message."

"We Have a Message" is a message that's simple to remember. It's also very flexible, and it conveys in just a few words one essential point: that we heard exactly what the voters were telling us on Election Day. In fact, if we need a second message, I propose that when the new Congress convenes in January, Republicans give serious consideration to the following: "We Heard Your Message."

The future is still ahead. We need to put these dark days behind us and walk strong and united into the new millennium. With the support of my colleagues, I look forward to doing that, just as soon as we've gotten rid of everyone we can possibly blame for this mess.

Posted 11/10/98. Fresh stuff right here twice weekly!

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©1998 Rick Horowitz. All rights reserved.