“When I heard that Linda Ronstadt would be appearing before our subcommittee, I was tempted to make my opening statement a compilation of all of my favorite Linda Ronstadt lyrics,” said Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho, the senior Republican on the panel. “I was going to open my remarks by saying, ‘people say I am the life of the party because I tell a joke or two.’ ” (See note below.)
As a member of the minority party, Mr. Simpson joked that “I have been cheated. “I have been mistreated.” And he asked the committee chairman, Norm Dicks of Washington, “When will I be loved?” And he added, “I know a thing or two about ‘crying like a rain storm and howling like the wind.’ ”
“In closing, let me say this,” Mr. Simpson added. “I don’t know much. But I know I love the arts and that may be all I need to know.”
A few other favorites:
