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RECOGNIZING THE SERVICE OF REP. JAMIE RASKIN
______
HON. DEAN PHILLIPS
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Mr. PHILLIPS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of my friend and colleague, Rep. Jamie Raskin, in the face of tragedy and tremendously difficult circumstances, by offering a column written by one of my constituents, Kurtis Meyer.
(By Kurtis Meyer)
Until recently, I hadn't paid much attention to Congressman Jamie Raskin from Maryland. I had seen him a few times on TV news programs, but the House of Representatives generally rewards seniority instead of ability. Since Congressman Raskin was first elected in 2016, he was lacking in the category that often earns Washington status and power.
Several months ago, in late 2020, Congressman Raskin's world was altered suddenly and dramatically. His son, Tommy, a second-year law student at Harvard, one of three Raskin children, took his life, succumbing to depression. His burial was on January 5th.
We all know what happened in Washington the next day, January 6th, when Congressman Raskin, his daughter and his son-in-law were in the Capitol, awaiting the historic moment when Electoral College results would be read. After literally fearing for their lives, in the aftermath of what--the uprising? the insurrection?--Speaker Pelosi asked Jamie Raskin to serve as the House's lead impeachment manager, a process rooted in the events of January 6.
I track closely on politics. It's has been an animating force in my life for four decades. While political campaigns are too long, too expensive, and too contentious, I engage in these battles, advocating on behalf of candidates I hope will serve our community, our state, and our nation with integrity. Today, however, I seek not to shed light on a political race, but rather to shine light on the human race, specifically, the strength, courage, and resilience of Congressman Jamie Raskin.
Last New Year's Eve, he gained membership in a club no one ever hopes to join: those who experience the loss of a child. This tragedy grew out of perhaps the least understood cause of death, soul-crushing depression. I didn't know 25-year old Tommy Raskin but have read tributes to him by those who did, including his family. Here's an excerpt from their capture of this young man's life:
Tommy entered the world like a blue-eyed cherub, a little angel (and) grew up as a strikingly beautiful curly-haired madcap boy beaming with laughter and charm, making mischief, kicking the soccer ball in the goal, acting out scenes from
`To Kill A Mockingbird' with his little sister . . . teaching other children the names of all the Justices on the Supreme Court, hugging strangers on the street, teaching our dogs foreign languages, running up and down the aisle on airplanes giving people high fives.
He hated cliques and social snobbery and never had a negative word for anyone but tyrants and despots, and opposed all malicious gossip, stopping all such gossipers with a trademark Tommy line--`forgive me, but it's hard to be a human.'
Tommy had a perfect heart, a perfect soul, a riotously outrageous and relentless sense of humor, and a dazzling radiant mind. He began to be tortured later in his 20s by a blindingly painful and merciless disease called depression that became unbearable for him, despite very fine doctors and a loving family. In a brief note to his parents: `Please forgive me. My illness won today. Please look after each other, the animals, and the global poor for me. All my love, Tommy.'
I struggle to fathom the devastation caused by a child's death. I have watched, from both near and far, as others have faced this horrific challenge and am in awe of those who endure with grace and determination. Earlier this month, during a remarkably difficult time in our country's history, Congressman Raskin and his colleagues advanced the case for impeachment with dignity and reason. With the shadow of death still all too fresh, Jamie Raskin was a model of character in service to our nation.
As the Congressman is fond of saying, ``Change is made by people who show up.'' Under the most difficult circumstances imaginable, Jamie Raskin showed up. I know of no better example of an elected official responding to duty, of placing service before self. In doing so, Congressman Raskin cast a bright ray of hope . . . that despite myriad challenges, our great country can continue as a beacon of enlightened democracy.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 63
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