You know . I think this speaks that i can be proof to that. But eventually i would eventually i would find my place somewhere in the middle. I guess, you know, somewhere between going for the jug ul jugular, what would be be . Going for the shoulder or biceps . That doesnt sound like a good idea. My one and only rule to cartooning is to try to make a cartoon insightful. Now if i cant make it insightful, i try to make it funny. If i cant make it insightful or funny, you know, make it timely. Needless to say, i draw a lot of timely cartoons. This one was actually very timely a couple months ago when i first drew it. Now you might think im being kind of tough on myself. But, hell, being tough on myself might be all i have going for me. You see, ive always had this terrible infear or the complex when it comes to my own work. I realize after all there are a lot of cartoonists working today who are better artists than i am. And mr. Tl are plenty of cartoonists who are funnier and more intelligent than me. So suffering as i do from such lo low cartooning selfesteem, i always try to compensate by a work ethic that borders on obsession. Now in light of that, i would accept this honor tonight but not as a recognition of artistic talent, nor as a testament to any inherent wit or wisdom. Ill accept this award on behalf of neurotic insecurity. And the hard work it inspires. In closing, id like to again thank the National Press foundation for recognizing my work. Id like to express special express to my bosses at the Chattanooga Times pfree press fr their support over the last seven years and to my wife cindy for her incredible patience over the past 15 and lastly, id like to thank all of you who are still here for not walking out during my slide show. Thank you. Please join us for the post dinner reception in the jefferson room on this level. Well have live music and its response yordz by pepsi. And on your way, i invite you to take a look at some of clays cartoons that are available for purchase with all proceeds going to the National Press foundation. I appreciate you having you here tonight. Thank you. And well see you n year. Goodbye. Tuesday between 1 00 p. M. And 8 00 p. M. , a focus on veterans issues. Well show you house hearings. Then after and veterans advocate at the National Press club. Next, an interview with new republican congressman will hurd of texas. Hes the first africanamerican republican to represent texas since reconstruction. He served abroad for a number of years in the cia. He talks about his family background, education, and his views on national security. Congressman will hurd from the 23rd Congressional District of texas. A district that includes, what, approximately 5,000 square miles, 800 mile of border along texas and mexico. How do you manage that . I put a lot of miles on the car. Its a big district. 29 counties, twotime zones. As you said, 800 miles of the border. Its gigantic. But thats one of the reasons why i love this district. We have some beautiful parts of the state. This is why pretty much a no name new fresh face was able to win this district was because the amount of time we spent crisscrossing it. And not afraid to burn up mile on my car and shoe leather. And thats what makes this exciting. Give us a sense of the demographics of the district. Some of the cities or towns and what struck you the most as you traveled in your campaign. Right. So san antonio is the most populous city in the district. Its about a fourth of san antonio. I was born and raised there. My parents still live in a house i was born in. And thats on the eastern endst district. On the western earned is el paso. Also a large city. Its covered by two members of congress. Im in between you have towns like hondo, uvalde, alpine, Big Bend National park. And its about a 67 hispanic district. So you have such a rural part and urban centers of san antonio and el paso. Sometimes people have one opinion and in the middle its a very different opinion. The thing that struck me the most when i was crisscrossing the 29 counties is that people care about national security. Theyre worried about their future and theyre worried about the safety of their children and their family. That was great because of my background. I spent a decade as an undercover officer in the cia. This played well in being tibl represent the district very well. Well talk about that. But if you were to travel from one endst district to the other, a straight shot, how long it would take . About 11 hours going about 80 miles an hour. The speed limit in most places is 75. If you go a couple miles over, theyre okay. You have ever been pulled over . I have. I have. First time my chief of staff came in the district, one of the things thats important for me is that my d. C. Staff understand the district and get out there and see it. And the first time my chief of staff was driving we got pulled over. What did you tell the Police Officer . Nothing. He said slow it down. Slow it down. It was late at night. And there were really looking at us to say, hey, be careful. So, you know, its great folks throughout the district. I dont know if he recognized me or not. But they were making sure that we were being safe. Youre also the first africanamerican republican since reconstruction to be elected. Yeah. How did that come about and why are you a republican . Look, it was funny getting up here to washington, d. C. , because the first question i got asked by mostly everyone was how did the black dude win in a hispanic district . And whats interesting is that when my parents, my parents, my dad is originally from east texas. My mom grew up in indiana. They met in los angeles. And got married and moved to san an dwroen in 1971. My father is africanamerican and my mother is white. And so it wasnt envogue to be an interracial couple in south texas in the early 70s. Whats great is now their youngest son is about to be is a member of congress. And, you know, when they first moved to san antonio, they had difficulty buying a home. And now im representing my hometown. And part of that is because people are no longer voting on color of your skin. Its on the content of your character. People knew that i was going to work hard and try to get things done. I was going to work across the aisle. And that i have an experience and background that is unique. Nobody up here has that. And so for me, its about working hard. At the end of the day, whether youre black, brown or anything, you know, people care about a couple things. They want food on the table, a roof over their head and they want the people that they love to be healthy and happy. And when you address those issues, it doesnt matter which community youre in, its going to resonate with people. Youre different from the president in terms of parties. But do you have a sense of his own background and understanding of what it was like for him to grow up in a similar situation like you . Im aware. Im aware. Look, its not just about he and i. There are a number of people that have had this experience. And its great using it. You learn to be empathetic. You learn to excel in places where youre the only person that looks like you. I think this was a skill that was very helpful to me when i was in the cia. So its an honor to be up here. Its an honor to represent my hometown. And like i said, i think its a great example of how texas has evolved and putting people in office because of who they are and what theyre going to do. As a graduate of texas a m, certainly one of the premier schools and a lot of school pride being an aggie. What does that mean for you . Look, you know, we have this code of honor at texas a m. Aggies not lie, cheat or steal and dont tolerate those who do. I think it will be a lot better place. Im proud to be an aggie. I learned a lot about leadership and representing people. I was student body president at a m on the year of the bonfire collapse. It was we basically built a really big fire about 100 or so feet tall and it collapsed during the building and killed 12 kids. And in 1999, it was the worst accident to have ever happened on the college campus. And to help lead the aggie family through what the darkest time in our history was an honor. I give that experience up if those 12 kids were still alive. But thats what you know, to me, it solidified what it means to be part of the aggie familiarly. We talk about the aggie network. I was able to leverage that in my run for congress. And so its its a great school. Its an awesome representing my alma mater. And the texas a m system has a school in san antonio which is relatively new. Its in the district. So its pretty cool to actually represent, you know, part of my alma mater. For those who dont remember what happened, explain the circumstances that led to the collapse. Where were you when it happened . How did you respond personally . Sure. So, you know this was what we did to show our burning desire to beat our rival, university of texas. And its a multitiered bonfire. It is a couple tons. Its gigantic. Its all student run and student built. And when it collapsed, it was there was some a lot of rain. It caused the ground to shift. The center pole that held up the entire thing cracked. It caused a spinning and a hoop stress and the entire thing collapsed on itself. When it collapsed, i was actually asleep. It happened about a little after 2 00 in the morning. One of my dearest friends called me and said you should get up here. And about 11 minutes after it collapsed, i was on campus. And involved in all the aspects of it. Of, you know, helping rescue the 12 kids and dealing with the press and also making sure loved ones knew where they could go get more information about their sons, daughters, brothers, uncles, cousins. How did that tradition change . It doesnt happen anymore at a m. That was the last. The year before that w the last time bonfire burned. Why Student Leadership and why did you decide to become stubt Council President . You know, its funny. I wasnt going to go to texas a a m. Texas a m, i applied as a backup. I was a Computer Science major. I got accepted to stanford. I got a pretty significant scholarship to go. And i went to texas a m because i had a counsellor at my high school, a big aggie, and he said he kept badgering me to go for a campus tour. I had friends that lived there. I said okay, if i go to texas a m for this visit, will you leave me alone . And he said yes. I went up for a tour and watch a Football Game and fell in love with the place. Fell in love with what we call the undereducation, the opportunities to get involved. And, you know, there is Something Special there at texas a m. On the side, i decided to run for student body president because i was involved in campus. I thought there were problems that needed to be fixed. My mom said im part of the solution. I decided to run. My buddies who i knew i would need to help me, they said yes. We decided to do it. How did that experience train you for running for congress . Well, it is a big school. At the time it was 45,000 students. And whether you add thats undergrad. What you add graduate and you add the number of professors and administrators, youre talking 75,000, 80,000 people. It taught me to, you know, how to work with a Diverse Group of people. Ideologically. And it taught me the importance of sticking to your principles. And that, you know, a handful of individuals can change the world. Thats because thats all i ever have. It was a good test run. I never thought i would run for congress after that. But it showed that we know how to get a message out and knock on doors. How do you approach the job of being a member of congress and what is your routine when hear in washington and when you go back to your district . Sure. So i ran for two reasons. One, to be a thought leader on national security. And then, two, to be the Gold Standard whether it comes to constituent relations. We sauk about the district. Its huge, 29 counties. 50 of the vote comes from san antonio. Some of the other counties because theyre so far away from the major centers, they dont get represents. And my title is representative, right i ran to be a representative not a congressman. And so the way we spend a good deal of my time, you know, were here for votes monday through thursday or tuesday through friday. And then im back in the district every weekend. I try to fly in out of san antonio two weekends a month, midland one weekend and el paso the fourth weekend of that month. And deal with that part of the district there. And we try to focus our legislative efforts on those things that resonate and are important in the district and are key in my background. The fact that were on the chairman of the committee and Information Technology within oversight and government reform is a great opportunity to leverage my experience and background, have a degree in Computer Science from a m. I did some offensive Cyber Operations when i was in the cia. When i left the cia and, you know, lost my first run for congress, i was partner in a Consulting Firm and so to be able to use that to focus on four areas, privacy, attitude procureme procurement, cybersecurity and information sharing and then emerging technology. And so thats where we spent a good deal of our time because of that chairmanship. Why is will hurd a republican . Im a republican because, look, i believe in freedom. I believe in small government. I believe in having a Strong National defense. I believe in equal opportunity for all. These are all things that have always resonated with me. My dad likes to say he was the first black republican in san antonio. I tried to fact check that and havent been able to. But, you know, i saw that in my parents. My parents started my dad was a salesman for 30 years. And when he retired from that job, he and my mother started a Beauty Supply and beauty school. And i saw what it meant to build something from scratch. And be rewarded for your efforts. And so these would experiences that i had growing up. This is what i believe in. Brothers . Sisters . I do. Im the baby of three. My sister is four years older than i am. My brother is five years older. They both live in san antonio. And were really close. Whether you raised your hand and took the oath of office, what were your mom and dad thinking . You know, i knew my mom would be crying. And my dad was proud. And it was funny. My dad is 82 years old. He showed up. He usually walks with a cane. And he showed up and he didnt have his cane. I said, dad, i do need to send someone to your hotel to get your cane . And he goes and straightens up and he says im in the capitol. I dont need a cane today. He walked without his cane for the entire day. And so i know they were super proud. My parents have always believed in me and theyve always been my rock and biggest supporters. And so it was great. It really hit home when i stood up and raised my hand and was able to see them up in the gallery. What was your biggest setback growing up or early in your career . Biggest well, i think biggest setback is losing the run for congress in 2010. You know, i left the cia specifically to run. I was frustrated with the caliber of our elected leaders. My job was to collect intelligence on addressing the homeland and to brief members of congress. I briefed hundreds of members, both parties, all 50 states, i was shocked by their lack of understanding of some basic issues that they were on committees for. And so i decided to run for congress. I didnt have a plan b. When we ran and we won the first round and everybody was excited and they said wow and everybody thought we were a shoe in to win the runoff. The other side even was already sending resumes out for further jobs. And when we lost by 700 votes, i felt like i had let everyone down. I knew in my head that wasnt the case but in my heart, i felt like all these people that had never been involved in the political process before that were excited, i feel like i didnt pull it out for them. It was hard. I didnt leave my house for a while. Then i realize, you know, then i had to figure out what is my plan b . And i interviewed and had coffee with about 75 people, all walks of life. You know, different parts of the country. I asked them, you know, if you were at the time i guess ways 32. If you were 32 again, what would you do . If time and money wasnt an issue, what would you do . And their responses is there was no great idea to generate from that. But the father of one of my closest friends, my closest friends, these guys ive known since i was 13 years old said do something meaningful and hard. And thats i was like, you know, so simple. But thats how ive lived my life since that period. I realize most of my life i was always trying to do things that are meaningful and hard. I learned a lot. Im a better person. And i think that loss prepared me for where i am today. So why did you decide to run again in 2014 . The opportunity was there. I had the fire in the belly. You know, coming that close, realizing that i had some significant disagreements with the person that was in office and thought that that person should be representing the district a little bit differently. It was something i love my country. I ran for office. I had the honor to serve my country for almost a decade in the cia. And to me i look at this as serving my country in a different way. And the opportunity was there and again the folks in the team said they were in for one more. We decided to do it. And the rest is history. So lets talk about the cia. You graduated from texas a m. You get a job at the agency. What was your first position . What was the biggest challenge . And what did you learn from your job there . Sure. So my first job, i was 22 years old. Im driving my toyota four runner from san antonio to washington, d. C. I stopped at a gas station and there say tv on and the uss cole had just blown up. Blown up in the gulf by al qaeda. I remember thinking i wonder if im going telephoo know anythin thats going on. There after we go through the initial on there. After we go through the initial orientation i was the desk officer for yemen. Quarters in langley. Im supporting our station, cia headquarters in yemen. So that was my first job. One of the Biggest Challenges while i was there was fighting the bureaucracy. When i was in afghanistan, i managed undercover operations. And i felt like there were rules and regulations that we were having to use to do our jobs that were preventing us from protecting ourselves and doing the job that we were trained to do. And so fighting the bureaucracy in kabul, fi