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    What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If that theory is accepted, we must abandon the notion that democratic government can be the direct expression of the will of the people. We must abandon the notion that the people govern. Instead we must adopt the theory that, by their occasional mobilizations as a majority, people support or oppose the individuals who actually govern. We must say that the popular will does not direct continuously but that it intervenes occasionally.

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  9  /  14  

I am not anti-American. But I am strongly pro-Canadian.

I am not anti-American. But I am strongly pro-Canadian.

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Governments need armies to protect them against their enslaved and oppressed subjects.

Governments need armies to protect them against their enslaved and oppressed subjects.

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Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.

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Government, in its very essence, is opposed to all increase in knowledge. Its tendency is always towards permanence and against read more

Government, in its very essence, is opposed to all increase in knowledge. Its tendency is always towards permanence and against change...[T]he progress of humanity, far from being the result of government, has been made entirely without its aid and in the face if its constant and bitter opposition.

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A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.

A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.

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A politician will always tip off his true belief by stating the opposite at the beginning of the sentence. For read more

A politician will always tip off his true belief by stating the opposite at the beginning of the sentence. For maximum comprehension, do not start listening until the first clause is concluded. Begin instead at the word "but" which begins the second, or active, clause. This is the way to tell a liberal from a conservative -- before they tell you. Thus: "I have always believed in a strong national defense, second to none, but ... " (a liberal, about to propose a $20 billion defense cut).

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It is long past time that the President and this Administration show its evidence. . .Today, we are introducing a read more

It is long past time that the President and this Administration show its evidence. . .Today, we are introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to compel the White House to substantiate its claims. The President led the nation to war, and spent at least $63 billion on that war, on the basis of these unfounded assertions. ~ Rep. Dennis Kucinich
http://www.kucinich.us.

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It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which read more

It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which the masses of men exhibit their tyranny.

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All lasting change is incremented, based on unfolding traditions and developing institutions. Revolutionary upheavals may change how the world looks read more

All lasting change is incremented, based on unfolding traditions and developing institutions. Revolutionary upheavals may change how the world looks but seldom changes the way the world works. Lasting historical change comes not through tidal waves but through the irresistible creeping tide.

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