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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am saddened by the comment from Sherrod that this is his farewell speech.

As I said to several of my colleagues, we lose so many good ones here, and after we have lost them to retirement and to election results, the Senate really is an empty place, and it will be in that corner. For as long as I have been honored to serve here, that place has been occupied by Sherrod.

What makes such a difference in this man? Why is he viewed so differently? Why have so many showed up to hear his farewell speech? Well, what I am about to say you can say about him and about Connie, his wife.

There was a man named Jack Valenti, who used to be an adviser to the Presidents, and he gave President Lyndon Johnson a piece of advice. He said: Every good speech should include six words. Let me tell you a story.

Time and again, Sherrod Brown told us a story. It was a story from a picket line. It was a story from a clothes factory. It was a story that you picked from your home State of Ohio and as you traveled around this country. And those stories, much like the stories that Connie has told over and over again in her celebrated writing, really illustrate the values of this country. You can give a sterile speech about political science all you wish, but if you tell a story that touches the heart of the listener, it can make a difference in them as it has made in you. Time and again, Sherrod has told those stories. That canary in a cage is a classic example. It tells you that he not only saw injustice but he spoke out against it, and he has dedicated his life to stopping it. And that inspires all of us--to listen to these stories and to realize they are the true story of America.

Now, this troubadour--this speaker, this man who has inspired us so often--is stepping into a different place in life.

All I can ask is one favor: Tell stories. You have so many that you have lived and so many things that need to be shared. I know that you, like your wife, are a writer--you wrote a great book about the desk at which you are sitting--and I know that you know what history means. But there is another job for you. I am not sure what it is, but I hope it will tap into your talent and your values.

I remember that day. You said it many times. It was the greatest day in your service in the Senate. It involved the child tax credit, as Bob Casey has talked to us about, and it also, I am sure, involved the idea of finally giving these retirees a fighting chance and a wage with which to sustain their families. Your fingerprints were all over that, Sherrod. It is the kind of issue that you run for office for and fight for--and make a difference in the history of this country.

So remember those words as you go forward. Your stories have inspired us. Keep telling those stories.

And, Connie, I know you will. I will look for your byline.

I wish you the best.

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