Neil Gorsuch > Quotes

“Our government is one of limited and separated powers, a design deliberately chosen to secure the promise of self-rule and our liberties and to prevent the accumulation of power in too few hands.”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It

“But if those blessings are to endure, it falls to each of us to do what we can to preserve and pass down civic understanding and the virtues of civility.”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It

“originalism is the worst form of constitutional interpretation, except for all the others.”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It

“fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces. They can lead to a clamor for action—almost any action—as long as someone does something to address a perceived threat. A leader or expert who claims he can fix everything if only we do exactly as he says can prove an irresistible force. We do not need to confront a bayonet; we need only a nudge before we willingly abandon the right to govern ourselves through our elected representatives and accept rule by decree. Along the way, we will accede to the loss of many cherished civil liberties—including the right to leave our homes and live, play, laugh, and grieve with one another. We may even cheer on those who ask us to forfeit our personal freedoms. Even the ancients warned that democracies can degenerate into autocracies in the face of fear.”
― Neil Gorsuch

“Of course, if the law offends the Constitution a judge may strike it down. But there’s nothing in the Constitution that forbids the people’s representatives from adopting stupid laws.”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It

“If I cannot convince you that originalism is the proper interpretive theory for our Constitution, I hope to convince you (to borrow from Churchill) that originalism is the worst form of constitutional interpretation, except for all the others.”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It

“separation of powers, its role in protecting individual liberty, and the dangers that follow when we forget. When the separation of powers goes ignored, those who suffer first may be the unpopular and least among us”
― Neil Gorsuch, A Republic, If You Can Keep It