Checks And Balances Quotes

“The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.”
― James Madison

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
― James Madison, The Federalist Papers

“In framing a government, which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty is this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.”
― James Madison

“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
― James Madison, Federalist Papers Nos. 10 and 51

“Mounting tensions in Eastern Europe send shivers down the spine. Barely a quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War we seem to be sliding inexorably towards another.”
― Alex Morritt, Impromptu Scribe

“The fundamental idea is that through the separation of powers and checks and balances, different voices—those of the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives—can be expected to contribute to public debate about the ends and means of national policy. The notions are familiar: the President speaks as the nationally elected voice of the people generally; the Senate represents the states; and the House represents particular constituencies that often have highly local concerns. More generally, the President speaks for the nation, and members of Congress—while being concerned with matters of national import—speak especially for different constituent parts of the nation. This constitutional structure guarantees that diverse perspectives will contribute to dialogue about public policy.”
― Thomas O. Sargentich, The Limits of the Parliamentary Critique of the Separation of Powers

“Shouldn't it be made a crime to vie for a position you can't deliver? We have a confused and compromised executive and an assembly of pigs providing checks and balances in Kenya.”
― DON SANTO

“I am sure because I am confident in the idea of the United States of America. I believe that the combination of checks and balances and a free press and our democratically elected representatives will expose charlatans. I believe in the good sense of the American people, and I know in my soul that truth will win out.”
― Jake Tapper, The Hellfire Club

“Weakness is still what I see: weakness in the sense of a great gap between what is expected of a man (or someday woman) and assured capacity to carry through. Expectations arise and clerkly tasks increase, while prospects for sustained support from any quarter worsen as foreign alliances loosen and political parties wane.”
― Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

“The death of George Floyd has been used as a catalyst. It was the kind of “event” for which the aforesaid revolutionary formation (Black Lives Matter) was created. Now, Black Lives Matter has become a power in its own right.

It is only the ignorance of the many, and the “fog of war,” that makes the casual observer dubious as to authorship of the present insurrection. For those who have not studied communist tactics, further shocks are in store. The existing political system failed to support the thin blue line, and that line is crumbling. The communists are winning.”
― J.R. Nyquist

“Legislators, regardless of party, have an obligation to monitor the executive branch. They should do so fairly and respectfully, but above all, they should do so.”
― Anonymous, A Warning

“This country had originally been born through many races working together. As a result, a member of the race with the largest population, a human, became the king, but in order to protect the rights of the other races, the commanders of the army, navy, and air force would be chosen from the other races.

So, if a tyrant took the throne and began oppressing the other races, the system had been set up so that the armies of the Three Dukedoms, being larger than the Forbidden Army, could remove him. Turning that around, if one of the Three Dukedoms was plotting to usurp the throne, the system was set up in a way that if even one of the armies were to side with the king, the rebellion could be put down.”
― Dojyomaru, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Volume 1

“Unlike Confucius, Madison maintained that people have a limited capacity to control their passions themselves and act virtuously when their individual interests conflict with others.”
― Patrick Mendis, Peaceful War: How the Chinese Dream and the American Destiny Create a New Pacific World Order

“In turning now to the principle of dialogue underlying the Constitution's structure, it is important first to note a basic distinction. The Constitution's structural theory rests on two closely related but nevertheless separate principles: separation of powers and checks and balances. The first principle requires that the branches of government be identifiably discrete. The second assumes that the branches are separate and then concentrates on promoting the checking of each by the others. The task of separation summons forth a "formalist" analysis; it requires formal definitions of some sort to provide the baseline for analysis. The task of checking and balancing is most closely associated with a "functionalist" approach; it requires an awareness of the need to balance the roles and functions of different institutions in determining their appropriate relations.”
― Thomas O. Sargentich, The Limits of the Parliamentary Critique of the Separation of Powers

“Furthermore, the managerial ethos of parliamentary reformism is in direct tension with important values associated with the dialogue that attends our system of checks and balances. The term "parliamentary reform" should not be allowed to cloud the fact that the critics advance a highly pro-executive position that would seek a strong government primarily by undercutting the independence of Congress.”
― Thomas O. Sargentich, The Limits of the Parliamentary Critique of the Separation of Powers

“Fourth Amendment reasonableness balances the advancement of government interests against the intrusion of the government’s acts. An officer should only be permitted to invoke a legal standard based on a different government’s interests when that government has recognized that enforcement as genuine and legitimate. Permitting cross-enforcement without authorization would permit an officer to piggyback on government interests that his searches and seizures are unlikely to advance. Authorization provides the best signal that an officer’s conduct genuinely advances the government interests used that justify it.

When a government is silent on who can enforce its laws, questions of constitutional history and structure justify different presumptions. State officers should be allowed to search or seize to enforce federal criminal laws unless Congress has forbidden it. On the other hand, federal officers should not be allowed to search or seize to enforce state law unless state statutory or caselaw affirmatively allows it.”
― Orin S. Kerr, Cross-Enforcement of the Fourth Amendment

“Power I defined as personal influence of an effective sort on governmental action.”
― Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

“The United States was no longer the overwhelming military power in the world, no longer sure of never losing wars. no longer confident of having learned how to maintain employment and to check inflation, no longer reveling in resource independence, technological supremacy, favorable exchange rates, and the privileged life abroad. (xiii)”
― Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

“For reasons I find hard to fathom, readers with government [Harvard?] experience follow my argument more easily that do some of those for whom it remains theoretical. (xv)”
― Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

“They will not be identical unless by chance: human prediction about other humans is not good enough. Why that is sometimes hard for readers inexperienced in government to see, I cannot tell (xvi).”
― Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

“Nothing can stop you accomplishing what you imagine in your heart but make sure your have right restraints in place for checks and balances that you do not accomplish something that you will regret or hurt others.”
― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

“The common law seems too shapeless, too complex. There are too many books. The law is too unknowable. It can never be restated authoritatively. A code may be "interpreted" totally out of shape. But at least it has an authoritative text. It can be copied in letter if nothing else.

The desire for a code was, among other things, a desire to limit autocracy. The power and discretion of the magistrates in Massachusetts Bay was at first virtually unlimited. Out of an urge by some to control this power came the Body of Liberties (1641).”
― Lawrence Friedman

“The independence of the arms of government must be checked. Let's be real if the so-called 'democracy' we were sold doesn't embrace this and adapt to the times, do we really need it? It's okay to upgrade for the benefit of the nation and not the egos of a few individuals.”
― DON SANTO

“If no one can tell you no, consequences will.”
― Frank Halden, THE SILENCE THAT BROKE ME: I THRIVED IN THE PRESSURE COOKER — UNTIL I DROWNED

“In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.”
― James Madison, Federalist Papers Nos. 10 and 51