Washington DC: 1st March, 2002
Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is an honour to join so many friends this evening in a tribute to freedom and a tribute to the President whose name is synonymous with it – Ronald Reagan.
Ronald Reagan – Conservative
Ronnie and I got to know each other at a time when we were both in Opposition, and when a good many people intended to keep us there. They failed, and the conservative 1980s were the result.
But in a certain sense, we remained an opposition, we were never the establishment. We were opposed to big government, to fashionable opinion within the belt-way, and to the endless round of so-called liberal solutions to problems the liberals themselves had created. As Ron once put it: the nine most dangerous words in the English language are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help”. As usual, he was right.
