Political Quotes

“near the beginning of the document that made us free, our Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote: ``We hold these truths to be self-evident.'' So from our very beginnings, our freedom has been predicated on truth. The Founders were visionary in this regard, understanding well that good faith and shared facts between the governed and the government would be the very basis of this ongoing idea of America. As the distinguished former Member of this body, Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, famously said, ``Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.'' During this past year, I am alarmed to say, Senator Moynihan's proposition has likely been tested more severely than at any time in our history. It is for that reason that I rise today to talk about the truth and the truth's relationship to democracy, for without truth and a principled fidelity to truth and to shared facts, our democracy will not last. Mr. President, 2017 was a year which saw the truth--objective, empirical, evidence-based truth--more battered and abused than at any time in the history of our country, at the hands of the most powerful figure in our government. It was a year which saw the White House enshrine ``alternative facts'' into the American lexicon as justification for what used to be simply called old-fashioned falsehoods.…”