Preston Manning Quotes

I wish to make it clear from the onset that at the coming election I want support on no other understanding that the new Parliament is to destroy once and for ever, the power of the hereditary chamber to reverse the decisions of the representatives of the people.

I continue faithful to the measure of Parliamentary reform brought forward by Mr. Pitt. I am firmly persuaded that at present a prodigious majority of the people of this country are adverse to the measure. In my view, so far from being an objection to the discussion, this is rather a recommendation.

The history of Congress shows that once parliamentary tools become big enough obstacles for the majority party, they are abolished or reformed.

In order to change Washington, we're going to have to change the people that we send there.

Whether we make it a condition or just through persuasion or just through popular support, whatever it takes, we really do need to shift through a system of voting where the way the Canadian public votes is the way the Canadian Parliament is formed after the election.

I look forward to representing the voters of District 30 and moving the state in a new direction.

Some people advocate public nomination and a three-track system - allowing voters and political parties to make nominations along with the committee. These people do not want any screening of candidates, but they have not clearly defined the concept of 'screening.'

Having a representative democracy requires the confidence of the voters in the system. And if voters lose confidence in the system they can make some very bad decisions.

Voting statistics for younger voters is pathetic.

The Electoral College was necessary when communications were poor, literacy was low, and voters lacked information about out-of-state figures, which is clearly no longer the case.

There's a learning curve to understanding how the Senate operates.

I do believe Hong Kong's 5 million eligible voters want the chance to elect their chief executive.

As it became clear that Senator Rubio was likely to run for president, I received encouragement to consider running for the Senate.

As every newspaper reader, liberal activist, or parliamentary junkie knows, the overarching barrier to most of Obama's agenda is the abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. In fact, several of Obama's second term priorities are not ideas in search of a majority - they are majorities in search of an up-or-down vote.

I think the thing that's impressed me the most has been the fantastic professionalism of the officials in the Senate.

Personally, I'm not a Republican, and I'm not a Democrat. People need to stop focusing on becoming part of a party and instead voting with their mind and their heart.

For a public option, I voted for that when I was in Congress, and the Senate couldn't stand up to the health insurance industry and took it out.

Whether or not your candidate wins, the crucial importance is the integrity of our voting system. You have to engage in the process in order to change it.

A vote should be generative, not like business as usual, which is what voting feels like for most of us.

My fear is of the message we put out to millions of voters is that if change is not initiated through the ballot box, then they may regard disappointment in that as a trigger to initiate other methods of change.

People should not be voting based on caste, religion, money, or liquor but real issues that affect their lives.

We can have all the walkouts we want, but if we don't walk to that ballot box and make our voices heard, these politicians aren't going to listen.

We need to have people who are talking about, 'Here's exactly what I would do differently.' That's what's important as we go vote.

The Senate could use more people who had to sweat for a living and fewer of the politicians who made this mess.

The electorate is bored of talking about the past. They are much more interested in the future.