The race for Speaker of the House is almost concluded, and it was in many ways an even more hotly contested and more comprehensive political struggle than the general election battle against the Democrats. So, to wrap it up, I want to tell about a personal conversation I had with Bill O’Brien not too long ago. And I don’t think (I hope, at least) that he would see this as betraying a confidence. After all, it shows the essence of the man, and the difference between a New Republican and the GOP of yesterday….
A month or two ago Bill and I were talking about the possible outcome of the Speakership race. "You know," I said conversationally, "if you win this and do well over the next two years, you can name your own ticket politically. You could be Governor, a member of Congress, or a Senator if you wanted to."
"No," he replied matter-of-factly. "I’m really not interested. I’m not interested in any of that."
"Oh, I know," I said, needling him. "You don’t want to talk about it now, not at this point at least. But what the hell, it can’t hurt to just engage in some idle speculation."
"Nope," Bill responded. "I’m not even interested in speculation about any of it."
"Why not?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. "What’s wrong with speculation?"
"Plenty," he said. "Once you start thinking along those lines, you start sabotaging what you believe in."
"Howso?" I asked.
"You start thinking about what’s going to get you re-elected and making decisions accordingly," he replied. "Once you do that, you start down the road of politics-as-usual. I have a specific set of beliefs, and I’ve made them clear to everyone. I’m not going to change that to get re-elected or elected to higher office. I am what I am, I believe in what I believe in, and I’m not about to shift my beliefs for short-term political gain. I’m not interested in running for anything or holding any office other than Speaker of the House. What you see is what you get, and as far as I’m concerned, it would be better to be voted out than to betray what I believe in."
He smiled at his own long-winded speech, and matter-of-factly took a puff on the cigar that he wasn’t smoking (oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t want anyone to know that he smokes a politically incorrect cigar every once in a while).
So there it was, made clear. That, more than anything, is why Bill O’Brien should be the next Speaker of the House: He will not betray his principles for political gain, he will not turn away from the ideals he ran on, and he won’t let the lure of "politics as usual" affect who he is and what he stands for.
I say Godspeed to Bill O’Brien and to every New Republican member of the House of Representatives—incumbents and freshmen alike—all of whom I hope will vote for him tomorrow, and then join him in mending the damage to our state and creating a renewed New Hampshire that will become a beacon of hope and good, frugal, small governent for all of America in the years ahead.