Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for those extremely thoughtful and lucid remarks. I also wish to associate myself with the idea that, here on this issue, we cannot act purely as partisans. I suppose I can make a partisan speech with the best of them, but we are called upon during these very trying days to speak not as partisans but as patriots and as constitutional patriots. I have been a professor of constitutional law for 27 years at American University's Washington College of Law, and I am aware that the Founders of this country were determined to see that while we acted as partisans in the normal push and pull of legislative politics, when it comes to the basic character of our democracy, all of us try to need to act in a way that is consistent with the constitutional values that unify us. Thomas Jefferson said: ``If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.'' And George Washington said that we should never forget that the word ``party'' comes from the French word ``partie.'' One part, each party is one part of the whole, and we have to try to keep our mind focused on the whole thing. Well, the whole country is in danger right now. The events of the last week have been breathtaking and extraordinary.…”