Political Quotes

“I wanted to respond to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, who is one of the very effective but selective crusaders for States' rights. This is a search for information, this commission, not legislative nor regulatory functions, but a search for information that has a uniquely national characteristic. The States, important as they are, are really not competent to do a national search that involves the issue of gambling. So, it may be an intrusion, but it is really not an either/or proposition: States' rights versus national intrusion. This subject lends itself to national study. Some things are best done by the States. Some things are best done by the Federal Government, and it is pretty hard to have a hard and fast rule. Generally, we Republicans prefer local government over national government, but that, again, depends on the circumstance. Tort reform, for example, in my judgment, and although I do not speak for all my colleagues on the Republican side, lent itself to a national solution rather than a State solution.”