JD Hayworth's Farewell Speech

Watched CSPAN for a little bit tonight, and was treated to the sight of JD's farewell speech on the House floor.

Actually, there were a few farewell speeches, as many of the outgoing members of the House Republican Study Group gave their speeches tonight. They saved JD for last, with Mike Pence (R-IN) introducing him as "the Sultan of Swat" and as "the cleanup hitter" of Republican speakers.

Hayworth was in fine form tonight (and I'm not being sarcastic, either :) .)

He started with a little bit of self-deprecating humor; first by agreeing with Rep. Pence's glowing introduction (to a round of laughter from the other members present), then by noting that he while he appreciated the sports reference (Babe Ruth was the "Sultan of Swat"), he no longer had the "Ruthian" girth.

He sounded a little wistful as he spoke about how he "involuntarily retired" from Congress, recounting a quote from a previous Congressman who stated that he left Congress due to health reasons - "The voters got sick of me."

The main part of his talk was mostly made up of praises of the Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the people of America.

His closing included expressions of thanks to his family, colleagues, and the people of Arizona.

During his speech, he said a couple of things that, well, if he had talked like this during the campaign, he might have won over enough Independent voters to have won the election.

The first was when he spoke about the agreements and disagreements in the House; he observed that such agreements and disagreements were part of the package of American democracy. He actually sounded wiser and more reasonable than I've ever heard him sound before.

Too bad for him that the reasonable words weren't turned into reasonable actions, and before the election.

The second thing that he said that indicated to me that he may have learned a little from this election cycle was when he said that "public service isn't always defined by public office."

Of course, it could just mean that he considers hosting a talk show, TV or radio, to be "public service."

Anyway, he really is a fine orator when he wants to be, and he wanted to be one tonight. I'll link to the appropriate part of the Congressional Record when today's proceedings are entered into it.

One other interesting observation: this really was a backslapping party and the praises the speakers heaped on one another were effusive, however, while everyone else was lauded for the "integrity" they brought to the RSC and to the Congress, that word was never used in a description of JD.

Just sayin'. :))

Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), the incoming chair of the House RSC, closed the Republican part of the evening's festivities by saying that "God made only one JD Hayworth."

A fact for which somewhere over 50% of his soon-to-be former constituents are very grateful.

Note: While this was his 'farewell' speech, the House has a little work left to do before adjourning for the holidays. He may have the opportunity to speak one more time.

Edit on 10 December to add:

The link to the Congressional Record page covering Hayworth's farewell is here. JD's section starts in the third column.

End edit.