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Executive Power Quotes

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Executive Power Quotes

“When a monarchy gradually transforms itself into a republic, the executive power there preserves titles, honors, respect, and even money long after it has lost the reality of power. The English, having cut off the head of one of their kings and chased another off the throne, still go on their knees to address the successors of those princes. On the other hand, when a republic falls under one man's yoke, the ruler's demeanor remains simple, unaffected, and modest, as if he had not already been raised above everybody.”

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Book:Democracy in America
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“That the legislative and executive powers of the State should be separate and distinct from the judiciary; and that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burdens of the people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from which they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in which all, or any part of the former members, to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct.”

PeopleShouldFirstsMayTwoStatesFeelingsBodyLawCertainPoliticsTakenReturnPeriodsMembersDirectElectionBurdenOppressionFormerFixedExecutivesStationsParticipatingJudiciaryVacancyExecutive Power
Author:George Mason
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“The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government. During a happy period (A.D. 98-180) of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines.”

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Book:The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Edited and Abridged): Abridged Edition
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“The most fearful phenomenon of these midcentury years is not the atom bomb; atomic energy does have its constructive possibilities.... The most fearful event of these times is the colossal expansion of the government of the United States and the constant increase of executive power within the government.”

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Author:Wheeler McMillen
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“The 16th Amendment corroded the American concept of natural rights; ultimately reduced the American citizen to a status of subject, so much so that he is not aware of it; enhanced Executive power to the point of reducing Congress to innocuity; and enabled the central government to bribe the states, once independent units, into subservience. No kingship in the history of the world ever exercised more power than our Presidency, or had more of the people's wealth at its disposal.”

PeopleWorldStatesGovernmentPoliticalPoliticsNaturalWealthRightsSubjectsCitizensConceptsIndependentCongressExecutivesAmendmentsUnitsPresidencyWorld HistoryReducingAmerican CitizensBribeNatural RightsExecutive PowerCentral GovernmentSubservienceKingship
Book:Income Tax: Root of All Evil
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“A representative assembly, although extremely well qualified, and absolutely necessary, as a branch of the legislative, is unfit to exercise the executive power, for want of two essential properties, secrecy and dispatch.”

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Book:The Political Writings of John Adams: Representative Selections
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“Church, the spiritual power, and the executive power are working today united in a system that confronts people. This alliance or cooperation between the spiritual power and the executive power, between the church and the government, unfortunately takes away the Church's basic mission. It takes away their right to speak on moral or ethical subjects.”

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Author:Andrey Zvyagintsev
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“The whole body of the nation is the sovereign legislative, judiciary, and executive power for itself. The inconvenience of meeting to exercise these powers in person, and their inaptitude to exercise them, induce them to appoint special organs to declare their legislative will, to judge and to execute it. It is the will of the nation which makes the law obligatory.”

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Book:The portable Thomas Jefferson
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“The constitution has divided the powers of government into three branches, Legislative, Executive and Judiciary, lodging each with a distinct magistracy. The Legislative it has given completely to the Senate and House of Representatives. It has declared that the Executive powers shall be vested in the President, submitting special articles of it to a negative by the Senate, and it has vested the Judiciary power in the courts of justice, with certain exceptions also in favor of the Senate.”

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Book:The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence. Reports and opinions while secretary of state
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“The government's assertion that it must be unhindered in protecting our security can camouflage the desire to increase Executive power, while the press's cry of the public's right to know can mask a quest for competitive advantage or a hidden animus. Neither the need to protect our security nor the public's right to know is a blank check.”

KnowsNeedsGovernmentDesireSecurityCryProtectAdvantageIncreasePressesChecksMaskExecutivesQuestsBlankAssertionCompetitive AdvantageCamouflageExecutive PowerAnimusBlank Check
Author:Richard Stengel
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“There is also the issue of personal privacy when it comes the executive power. Throughout our nation's history, whether it was habeas corpus during the Civil War, Alien and Sedition Acts in World War I, or Japanese internment camps in World War II, presidents have gone too far.”

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Author:Dick Durbin
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“I was very, very concerned about President Obama and how much executive order and how much executive power he tried to exert. But I think I want to be, and I think congress will be, a check on any executive, Republican or Democrat, that tries to grasp too much power. And really, a lot of the fault is not only presidents trying to take too much power, it's Congress giving up too much power.”

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Author:Rand Paul
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“Under Article II, all executive power is vested in one president of the United States. The regulatory state is Congress's efforts to undermine the president's authority. And my hope is we will see a president use that constitutional authority to rein in the uncontrollable, unelected bureaucrats and to rescind regulations.”

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Author:Ted Cruz
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“Under the doctrine of separation of powers, the manner in which the president personally exercises his assigned executive powers is not subject to questioning by another branch of government.”

GovernmentPresidentSubjectsExerciseSeparationDoctrineBranchesExecutivesQuestioningSeparation Of PowersExecutive BranchExecutive PowerBranches Of Government
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1973
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“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

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Author:James Madison
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“It equally proves, that though individual oppression may now and then proceed from the courts of justice, the general liberty of the people can never be endangered from that quarter; I mean so long as the judiciary remains truly distinct from both the legislature and the Executive. For I agree, that "there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers." And it proves, in the last place, that as liberty can have nothing to fear from the judiciary alone, but would have every thing to fear from its union with either of the other departments.”

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Book:The Federalist Papers: A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution
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“[T]he opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves, in their, own sphere of action, but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch.”

GivingGovernmentActionLawPoliticsOpinionJudgingChecksBranchesExecutivesSpheresLegislatureJudicialJudiciaryExecutive BranchExecutive PowerTyranny Founding FathersBranches Of GovernmentJudicial BranchJudicial PowerJudicial Review
Book:Memoir, correspondence, and miscellanies from the papers of T. Jefferson
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“The discovery of nuclear chain reactions need not bring about the destruction of mankind any more than did the discovery of matches. We only must do everything in our power to safeguard against its abuse. Only a supranational organization, equipped with a sufficiently strong executive power, can protect us.”

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Book:Ideas and Opinions
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“It was settled by the Constitution, the laws, and the whole practice of the government that the entire executive power is vested in the President of the United States.”

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Book:Annual messages, veto messages, protest, &c. of Andrew Jackson, President of the United States
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“As presidential authority expands, and the role of Congress diminishes, the American people continue to lose control over their government. Today's assertions of executive power are indeed a nightmare and Peter Shane's extremely readable and well-informed book describes this disturbing transformation in frightening detail. For anybody who cares about our constitutional system of protected liberties, this book is indispensable. I couldn't put it down and grew angrier, and more concerned, with every page.”

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Author:Mickey Edwards
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“Modern Democrats aren't the first political party to abuse power - far from it. Obama isn'€™t the first president to abuse executive power - not by a longshot. But he has to be the first president in American history to overtly and consistently argue that he's empowered to legislate if Congress doesn'€™t pass the laws he favors. It's an argument that's been mainstreamed by partisans and cheered on by those in media desperate to find a morsel of triumph in this presidency.”

IfsFirstsLawPoliticalPresidentPartyModernMediaArgumentAbuseDemocratCongressArguingFavorsTriumphDesperateExecutivesAmerican HistoryConsistentlyPresidencyPolitical PartiesEmpoweredNotablePartisansExecutive Power
Author:David Harsanyi
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“I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with [the president] trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm President of the United States of America.”

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Author:Barack Obama
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