Political Quotes

“I have sought recognition to again alert my colleagues to what I consider to be a very important matter, and that is that the Supreme Court of the United States is materially changing the traditional separation of powers and that, as a result, the Congress of the United States continues to lose very substantial power in the Federal scheme under the Constitution of the United States. This is a theme I have submitted over the course of the last 30 years, since 1981, with the confirmation proceedings of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. And in now the 12th proceeding that I will personally have participated in, I raise this issue again to urge my colleagues to take a stand. The only opportunity we have to influence the process is through the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices. But we have witnessed a series of cases where instead of the traditional doctrine of separation of power, there has been a very material concentration of power which has gone principally through the Court and secondarily to the executive branch. The Framers put the Congress under Article I. It was thought at the time the Constitution was adopted that Congress would be the foremost branch representing the people. The executive branch is Article II, and the judiciary branch is Article III. Were the Constitution to be written today, I think we would find the course inverted.”