Political Quotes

“Madam President, it is important to remind ourselves, at moments like this, how unnatural and uncommon democracy really is. Just think of all of the important forums in your life. Think about your workplace, your family, your favorite sports team. None of them makes decisions by democratic vote. The CEO decides how much money you are going to make. It is not by the vote of your fellow employees. You love your kids, but they don't get an equal say in household matters as mom and dad do. The plays the Chiefs called on their game-winning drives were not decided by a team vote. No, most everything in our lives that matters, other than the government under which we live, is not run by democratic vote, and, of course, a tiny percentage of humans--well under 1 percent--have lived in a democratic society over the last thousand years of human history. Democracy is unnatural. It is rare. It is delicate. It is fragile, and untended to, neglected, or taken for granted, it will disappear like ashes that scatter into the cold night. This body--the U.S. Senate--was conceived by our Founders to be the ultimate guardians of this brittle experiment in governance. We, the 100 of us, were given the responsibility to keep it safe from those who may deign to harm it, and when the Senate lives up to this charge, it is an awesome, inspirational sight to behold.…”