Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Mitch McConnell
ATLANTA, GA – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today at the funeral service of Senator Johnny Isakson:
“Diane, Kevin, John, and Julie —
“You know, in the U.S. Senate, a lot comes down to attendance.
“Do you have the votes? Do you have a quorum? It’s about who shows up.
“Well, I haven’t seen this big or bipartisan a group of Senators together off the floor since September. So what happened in September you’re wondering? The annual Johnny Isakson barbecue lunch was restarted in his honor.
“Two years before that, when Johnny gave his farewell speech, the chamber was packed with Republicans, Democrats, and staff like I hadn’t seen since Bob Dole left the Senate in 1996.
“Now, we all know this is a polarized time. Unity is in short supply. But the gigantic and diverse Johnny Isakson fan club has never failed to pack a room.
“Johnny Isakson told the truth. He played by the rules. He treated everybody with respect and unfailing kindness. A gentleman in the literal sense: A gentle man.
“To be clear, our colleague was a savvy legislator. A cunning dealmaker. There wasn’t a naïve bone in his body.
“But Johnny’s achievements didn’t come in spite of his quiet virtues. They came because of those virtues. Johnny the remarkable Senator was a direct result of Johnny the Sunday School teacher.
“St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, chapter 10, offers a kind of mission statement for Christian friendship. He writes: ‘Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.’
“That was Johnny. His kindness made all of us kinder. His dedication made us more dedicated.
“A genuine, generous love for others beamed from Johnny like the rays of the sun. And just a short moment in that warmth was enough to leave you thinking that just maybe, on your best day, you could love the people around you half as well as Johnny did on his worst day.
“There is a playfulness in that verse from Scripture that captures why I’ll miss my friend so very much. Saint Paul doesn’t just say to inspire love and good works. He says we should stir them up. Another translation says provoke. Now does that sound like anybody we know?
“Johnny was a master of the sly smile. A virtuoso of the one-liner. I would hear peals of laughter echo through my office, and it turned out Johnny had gone around me and was lobbying my staff directly — charm on full blast, twinkle in his eye.
“Johnny faced challenges: An illness. A retirement that came entirely too soon. But through it all, Johnny lived as though his yoke were easy. His burdens, light.
“‘You suffered,’ St. Paul continues later, but ‘do not throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded… Persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’
“And this is why we have gathered in God’s house. To honor our friend, but even more, to give thanks for an amazing reality. The reality that, as dearly as we loved Johnny, our Father in Heaven knows him even better and loves him even more than we ever could.
“Johnny’s time with us may have ended. But we trust that his eternity in that even greater love has just begun.
“And I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty certain that the halls of Heaven were filled to capacity with everyone who wanted to welcome Johnny firsthand.
“Shake his hand. Share a laugh. Hear his stories.
“I bet it was Standing Room Only.
“The Johnny Isakson fan club never fails to pack a room.”
###