Political Quotes

“At this time, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock). Mr. McCLINTOCK. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this question transcends the issue of illegal immigration. The President's action has crossed a very bright line that separates the American Republic, which prides itself on being a nation of laws and not of men, from those unhappy regimes whose rulers boast that the law is in their mouths. It is true that throughout the Nation's history, Presidents have tested the limits of their authority, but this is the first time a Chief Executive, who is charged with the responsibility to ``take care that the laws be faithfully executed,'' has asserted the absolute power to nullify or change these laws by decree. Under our Constitution, the President does not get to pick which laws to enforce and which laws to ignore. He does not get to pick who must obey the law and who gets to live above the law. He is forbidden from making laws himself. ``All legislative power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.'' Whether we choose to recognize it or not, this is a full-fledged constitutional crisis. If this precedent is allowed to stand, it will render meaningless the separation of powers and the checks and balances that comprise the fundamental architecture of our Constitution, that have preserved our freedom for 225 years.…”