Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the most important words of our Constitution are the first three words: ``We the people.'' That is the mission statement of our Constitution. Our Founders did not seek to design a government that would enable the powerful and the privileged to make rules to benefit themselves. They didn't say: We want to have a Constitution that enables the wealthy and the well-connected to take away the riches of this country at the expense of the people. No, they laid out the vision ``We the people.'' They put that mission statement in supersized font, so even if you were reading the Constitution from across the room, you would understand its core mission--a core mission that unfortunately has been sabotaged in the Citizens United decision, which, instead of pursuing government of, by, and for the people, instead of providing what Jefferson called the equal voice, mother principle of America--that each citizen should have an equal voice--proceeds to give the powerful the reins of power through unlimited third-party campaign spending. The corruption of our democracy is in full gear, and we see it through the bills that are coming to this floor--bills to wipe out healthcare for 22 to 30 million Americans, a bill that passed that borrows $1.5 trillion from our children and proceeds to give that money virtually entirely--more than 80 percent--to the very richest Americans.…”