Political Quotes

“Mr. President, when I was in grade school, I had basic civics education. We learned about the fact that the vision of America was based on individuals standing up for their ideas in the public square. They could say: Here is what I think should take us forward, and here are the arguments behind it. And someone else could say: Not so quick. I don't think that is the right path. We should do something else. But in the course of this debate, those people gathered in the square could decide which way to go, partly based on whether they admired the thinking and the ideas being presented by the individuals, perhaps also what they knew about the individuals who were making those comments. But this is a basic competition of ideas freely expressed by members of the community and debated openly. Well, I thought that was a beautiful thing; and it really goes to the notion of freedom of speech and the power that flows up from the people because it is the people gathered and discussing ideas who are making decisions. And in a republic, like our Republic, those decisions also involved whom you vote for because of that set of ideas; and that person is sent to a State legislature or the House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate to fight for those ideas. Isn't that a beautiful concept of complete transparent debate? You know who else agreed with this idea who is no longer with us? Antonin Scalia.…”