Political Quotes

“at the same time last year I sat on the highest State court in the State of Texas, struggling with this very issue. Our court looked at what the standard should be on the question of punitive damages. It looked at ``clear and convincing evidence.'' It looked at burden by ``a preponderance.'' It looked beyond ``a reasonable doubt,'' and it chose not to pursue this standard. Other States have chosen to pursue the ``clear and convincing'' standard. There are some good arguments for it. But the one thing that is clear and very convincing about this debate is that our States are being denied that right and that people that come here praising the 10th amendment are shredding it in the course of this debate and are saying that State jurists and legal scholars and State legislators around this country shall not have the right to set the standard that will apply to their citizens. So much of this debate is build on the theory that we not only need trickle-down economics, that what we need is trickle-down government and that it ought to trickle down from Washington instead of gushing up from the people and their State and local leaders. I reject that, as this amendment does.”