Political Quotes

“Madam President, the first three words of our Constitution are ``We the People.'' Indeed, our entire system was set up to be a government which produces results of, by, and for the people, but certainly right now, that is not what we are getting. We are getting a secret plan which has not yet been put on this floor, with a promise that there will be a debate in the middle of the night--no chance for committee hearings on it, no chance to consult with experts, no chance for us to go home and talk to our constituents. This is about as far away from a deliberative democratic republic as you can possibly get. It makes us think of 1787, when Ben Franklin came out of the Constitutional Convention and was stopped by someone in the crowd and asked: What do we have--a monarchy or a republic? He answered: A republic, if you can keep it. Well, we are not keeping it right now through this secret, middle-of- the-night, non-consultative process. We are disgracing the notion that our Founders fought for the ``we the people'' Republic. This is something which touches so many Americans. We are not talking about the weight limit on a highway. We are not talking about what kinds of signs to post. We are talking about fundamental access to healthcare. If the rumors are right, my colleagues plan to bring forward a bill that will blow up insurance on the exchange for millions of Americans. An insurance pool is a little bit like a swimming pool.…”