On the recordMarch 16, 2010
Madam Speaker, 233 years ago this May, a group of American patriots met in Philadelphia to create a Constitution which has been the guiding light to freedom-loving people around the world. Now, as we gather here, the majority is planning a procedural gimmick to get around having to vote for a health care bill that Americans don't want or can't afford. Let's not circumvent the Constitution. Outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention concluded in September of 1787, a Mrs. Powell of Philadelphia is reported to have asked Benjamin Franklin, ``Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?'' With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, ``A Republic, if you can keep it.'' Let's keep this Constitution. ____________________
