Political Quotes

“I rise to speak about S. Res. 154. S. Res. 154 is a resolution I submitted last month with Senator Blumenthal. It calls for fair and free elections in Iran and points out that the Iranian regime is fundamentally illegitimate. Americans believe in the power of elections. We believe voting means something. The rest of the world also understands and respects that elections are powerful events. Most countries that hold elections want to channel the will of their people into the governing of their country. The Supreme Leader of Iran believes in the power of elections too, but he does not respect them. He himself has never been elected, and he knows a free election might threaten his power base. So he ensures that a truly free election is impossible for the Iranian people. In past elections fraud has been rampant. The government has cracked down on public dissent and moved against media sources that are not officially sanctioned. But most of all, Iran's Supreme Leader has developed the unfortunate habit of selecting which candidates may be permitted to run for office. Hundreds of candidates were prohibited from running for Parliament last year and hundreds more were denied the right to run for President this year. Apparently, the Supreme Leader believes there is too much at stake to risk anyone other than a handpicked candidate to prevail at the voting booth.…”