Cord Byrd: “James Madison reminds us, in Federalist No. 37, that: The genius of republican liberty seems to demand . . . not only…”

“James Madison reminds us, in Federalist No. 37, that: The genius of republican liberty seems to demand . . . not only that all power should be derived from the people, but that those intrusted with it should be kept in dependence on the people. . . . To ensure that this quotation I have just stated by James Madison is so, it is the representatives of the people in Congress--including Robert C. Byrd and all other Senators here--who are entrusted with the power of the purse. ``This power,'' Madison writes, in Federalist No. 58, ``may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.'' We are Senators, the people's representatives. We are here to look after the interests of the people of our States. In many cases, they are not well-to-do people.…”