Harold J. Laski Quotes
Congress is always looking for occasions to differ from the President.
Harold J. Laski, 1893-1950, English Political Scientist, The American Presidency, 1940
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
When the Senate was debating the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which would empower the President to take "all necessary measures" to repel any armed attack on U. S. forces, Senator Morse was one of only two Senators opposing the resolution:
His role was the equivalent of the Mayor of Washington DC. Even though the Congress had generally been the most powerful branch of the government, public opinion on this was beginning to shift at the turn of the 20th century.
This quotation was the beginning of a struggle between Congress and the Presidency over war powers. In this case, President Jefferson had sent a squadron of American ships to protect American Shipping from Arab Corsairs who preyed on shipping and captured crews and passengers of all nations to hold for ransom or put into slavery. The American ships, instead of only providing defense, attacked some of the ships of the Bey and freed a captured American frigate and crew. Jefferson acknowledged that the act was a grey area and asked for authority more authority for the Executive Branch to initiate action. The balance of authority for war and/or defense has been struggled over ever since.
The 534 he referred to were the Members of Congress.
Harold Joseph Laski was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of Economics from 1926 to 1950. He first promoted pluralism by emphasising the importance of local voluntary communities such as trade unions. After 1930, he began to emphasize the need for a workers' revolution, which he hinted might be violent. Laski's position angered Labour leaders who promised a nonviolent democratic transformation. Laski's position on democracy threatening violence came under further attack from Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 1945 general election, and the Labour Party had to disavow Laski, its own chairman.
