Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, including its First Amendment, which says, in part, ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment, or religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'' We can't let statements by the President declaring the press is the enemy of the people go unchallenged. Both parties complain about the media, but who can argue with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that ``our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost,'' or with James Madison, who said that ``the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments,'' or with President Reagan, who said that ``freedom of the press is one of our most important freedoms and also one of our oldest,'' or with Justice Kennedy, who wrote that ``the First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.'' These words of past leaders should inspire us to act, to send a message that we support the First Amendment, and we support the freedom of the press. Senators Schumer, Blumenthal, and I have introduced a resolution that does just that.…”