“What you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to seek a common good beyond your comfort; to defend needed reforms against easy attacks; to serve your nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens: citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character.” DoeImportantCharacterGovernmentAsksNationsEasyCommunityCommonSubjectsBuildingNeededCitizensComfortResponsibleNeighborReformSpectatorsCommon GoodBuilding Community Author:George W. Bush
“We all know that election reform takes time. That's because those who have benefited from the system are the ones who fight hardest to preserve it. So if we're going to succeed, we need an independent coalition of citizens who believe in reform, who believe that our election laws should treat every voter equally, who believe that low levels of competition and participation are not healthy for democracy. The Independence Party is helping to build that coalition and I am happy to join you in doing so.” IfsKnowsNeedsShouldBelieveHelpingLawFightingLevelsPartyDemocracyCitizensHealthySucceedLowsTreatsIndependentElectionIndependenceCompetitionHardestReformPreservesVotersTake TimeParticipationCoalitionsLow Level Author:Michael Bloomberg
“The right way to deal with healthcare reform is not to have a one-size-fits-all plan that's imposed on all the states, but recognizing the differences between different states' populations, states should be able to craft their own plans to get all their citizens insured, and to make sure that preexisting conditions are covered.” WayShouldDifferentStatesAbleDifferencesDealsPlansConditionsCitizensFitSizePopulationCraftsReformCoveredHealthcareRight WayRecognizingOne Size Fits AllHealthcare Reform Author:Mitt Romney
“I worry that the Senate is working to consider a series of little-noticed provisions in comprehensive immigration reform that may provide a pathway to a national ID card for all individuals present in the United States - citizens and noncitizens.” MayLittlesStatesIndividualUnitedWorryUnited StatesCitizensSeriesImmigrationCardsReformSenateProvisionComprehensivePathwaysImmigration Reform Author:Rand Paul
“In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens, a substantial part of its whole population, who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life. I see one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” LittlesEnoughWholeMomentsGovernmentTodayNationsMillionsGreaterProgressCitizensStandardsTestsThirdsAddIllPopulationReformAbundanceDeniedLowest Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
“When social movements engage in legal reform, they often mobilize images of people from their constituent population who most match national norms about what "deserving citizens" are like, and use those people as spokespeople and as lead plaintiffs in legal cases. This strategy requires that people who are experiencing intersectional harm - who are vulnerable through multiple vectors of demonization and marginalization - be further marginalized and disappeared by the advocacy.” PeopleUseSocialCasesMovementCitizensStrategyPopulationHarmVulnerableReformMultipleNormDeservingConstituentsAdvocacyMarginalizedSocial MovementsMarginalizationVectorsSpokespeople Author:Dean Spade
“Legal reform organizations are usually trying to portray their constituents as "hard workers," as "not criminals," as citizens, as part of normative family arrangements, and as conforming to white norms as much as possible. When these strategies are used, the most dangerous conditions and the people who are most vulnerable cannot be discussed or addressed.” PeopleTryingHardUsedWhiteConditionsDangerousHard WorkCitizensOrganizationStrategyWorkersCriminalsVulnerableReformArrangementsConformNormConstituentsHard Worker Author:Dean Spade
“On the subject of money and politics and the rest, I have a DARE: Disclose who are these people; Amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United; Reform: let's have public financing of campaigns; and Empower.” PeopleUnitedSubjectsCitizensConstitutionDareCampaignsReformEmpoweringFinancingCitizens United Author:Nancy Pelosi
“He's [Louis Brandais] so suspicious of bigness in government as well as business that he mistrusts even really top-down reforms at the state level. The most inspiring part of his legacy to me is his belief in the imperative and duty of self-education on behalf of citizens.” WellsSelfStatesGovernmentBeliefLevelsDutyCitizensReformLegacyBehalfImperativesSuspiciousSelf EducationMistrustTop DownMost Inspiring Author:Jeffrey Rosen
“There are three major political organizations in this country: the Republican Party, the Democratic Party and the Koch Brothers Party. With billions to spend on campaigns. think tanks and 'educational' organizations, the Koch brothers are the most powerful. We must overturn Citizens United, move to public funding of elections and pass real tax reform.” ThinkingRealCountryMovingPoliticalThreeUnitedPowerfulPartyBrotherCitizensRepublicanTaxesMajorsOrganizationElectionDemocraticEducationalBillionsCampaignsReformMost PowerfulRepublican PartyDemocratic PartyFundingTanksTax ReformCitizens United Author:Bernie Sanders
“The extremely low respect Congress enjoys among the population indicates that the citizens understand broadly what's going on. But the lack of a realistic political reform path leads to apathy and the kind of mindless frustration that manifests itself in the Tea Party-style hatred of any and all government.” KindGovernmentPoliticalEnjoyPartyPathStyleCitizensLowsHatredCongressPopulationReformTeaFrustrationRealisticApathyTea PartyMindlessPolitical Reform Author:Thomas Pogge
“I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law. While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top. I put it on eBay.” ShouldBelieveEndsSelfTodayLawCulturePayCitizensOfficeMajorsEthicsShould HaveLuxuryReformGovernorsJetOver The TopEbay Author:Sarah Palin