A tribute to Tony Rudy, a good friend and a true believer

Congressman DeLay made a tribute to Tony Rudy on the floor of the House before the end of the session on 15 Dec. Tony has been the most helpful staffer for the CNMI in its history. He is going to join Mr. Jack Abramoff at the new firm. Mr. Delay’s tribute to this super hero:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a friend and colleague who, after eight years of service to the House of Representatives, is moving on. Every member of this House knows how important it is to have good staff. These are the people who run this institution from day to day. They are the people who do the grunt work, draft the bills, work long nights-all in service of the American people. And we, as Members of Congress, place our trust and careers in their capable hands every day. I am very lucky.

“I have always been blessed with great staff. But every once in a while a truly special person comes along and inspires and energizes an office. I was lucky enough to have one of the best, one of the most committed, one of the brightest staffers on Capitol Hill working for me for the past five and half years. His name is Tony Rudy. Tony came to work for me in 1995, just as I was beginning my time as Majority Whip in the House of Representatives. Being the Whip is hard work, and a lot of that work falls on my staff. These staffers devote a large part of their lives to making sure we get our work done, pass legislation and make the House of Representatives a livable place for Members of Congress.

“And Tony is one of the best. He has held virtually every position in my office as he worked his way up the ladder. He started out as a Press Secretary and moved on to Policy Director and finally Deputy Chief of Staff. And he was superb in each of these positions. As my Press secretary, Tony’s hallmark was his ability to form real friendships with the Washington press corps. The people covering politics and Capitol Hill know that they can call Tony anytime and they can always trust what he has to say. Tony’s authenticity and ability to form relationships has been instrumental to his success.

“Next, I put Tony’s commitment to the conservative cause to good use by making him my Policy Director. One of the things that I have always admired about Tony is his real commitment to the conservative agenda. He is not in Washington, DC for power or personal gain. He is here because he believes in what he is doing and because of his desire to make America a better place. And his commitment was on display every day as he moved through my office like a whirlwind, pressing staffers to do more, to work harder. He is personally responsible for the passage of much good legislation, but more importantly he was on the lookout for bad legislation. More than a few bad bills found an early grave because of Tony’s vigilance.

“Finally, Tony served as my Deputy Chief of Staff. In that capacity he became a not just a great staffer, but a great friend. He was my gatekeeper and my watch-guard. In many ways, too numerous to list here, he made my life in Washington, DC tolerable. Now, Tony has decided to move on to greener pastures. For five and half years, Tony was always on call. He worked countless late nights and weekends. Now, he has a beautiful new son and is time for him to step back and spend some time with his family.

“Tony’s departure is a personal loss for me, but I know that it is the right thing for him to do. I wish him the best in his new career and I wish him and his family all the joy and happiness in the world. After all of Tony’s hard work for me and the American people, they truly deserve it.”

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It remains leadership’s obligation to retain Mr. Jack Abramoff and his team who could easily present our cause in a divided 107th US Congress. It’s an issue that requires clear vision of what lies ahead if we choose to neglect the realities in Washington.

Strictly a personal view. John S. DelRosario Jr. is publisher of Saipan Tribune.