Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Constitution is the guarantor of our liberties. So it should come as no surprise that those who crave power to rule over their fellow men always seek to suspend the Constitution by declaring and perpetuating emergencies. This is the trick that always seems to work: Declare an emergency, and exempt yourself from the constitutional restraints on power that are necessary for the preservation of a free society. It is a strategy that has existed since antiquity. As our Founders enshrined in the Constitution a system of checks and balances, so too did the founders of the Roman Republic. But when the crisis emerged, the Romans dissolved the restraints on power. That is how the Roman Republic died and how Caesar became dictator for life. There is a touch of Caesarism in the COVID national emergency. The President told us that the pandemic is over, yet the national emergency remains. When the Senate last voted to terminate the COVID national emergency in March, the White House issued a veto threat. At the time, the White House said: Although we have made tremendous progress in combating the virus, the virus continues to pose a risk to the American people and our healthcare system. Caesar could not have said it better himself. The administration demands credit for how it wielded extraordinary powers, but it can never claim total success, for doing so would rob the administration of the power it so craves. Have we forgotten what emergency powers look like?…”