Wayne LaPierre Quotes

If something is being done on a secret basis in national security, that's a great reason for elected officials to not talk about it. And that's a great way to shirk accountability for it with the public.

We are absolutely going to make sure Paul Ryan is being held accountable to the people.

I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, 'cuz he ain't gotta worry about getting re-elected.

If I don't run for president, we'll all be OK.

You elected government officials to make decisions and it's about time they started making good ones.

What is good about the United States is the sense that you can disagree with the government and not be seen as unpatriotic, although many in the government will try to make you seem unpatriotic.

Lawmakers need to be held accountable and should feel the impact of a government shutdown just like many other Americans will.

I ask the rights to pursue happiness by having a voice in that government to which I am accountable.

The duty of an Opposition is to oppose.

The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country should hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny.

Democracy is much too important to be left to public opinion.

Government is like fire. If it is kept within bounds and under the control of the people, it contributes to the welfare of all. But if it gets out of place, it gets too big and out of control, it destroys the happiness and even the lives of the people.

A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of the constitution, … are absolutely necessary to preserve the advantages of liberty, and to maintain a free government. The people ought, consequently, to have a particular attention to all those principles, in the choice of their officers and representatives: and they have a right to require of their lawgivers and magistrates an exact and constant observance of them, in the formation and execution of the laws necessary for the good administration of the commonwealth.

The process of our democracy must not be imperiled by the denial of essential powers of free government.

Constantly bear in mind that not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with office-seekers, but with you, is the question, Shall the Union and shall the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generations?

People seem to think that if a man is a Member of Parliament he may do what he pleases.

... we, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve.

That's what representative democracy is about, is members going to Washington but coming home and answering the tough questions.

I think our democracy has it exactly right: two terms, eight years. It's enough. Because it's important to have one foot in reality when you have access to this kind of power.

The ability to choose who governs us, and the freedom to change laws we do not like, were secured for us in the past by radicals and liberals who took power from unaccountable elites and placed it in the hands of the people.

Serving in the U.S. Congress is about much more than voting on bills. It is about taking on the corporate bullies that taint our democratic process and pushing back when the system is broken.

We can walk and chew gum at the same time. Yes, the American people want us to legislate, they want us to insist on furthering their set of values, but they also want us to resist and exercise our oversight powers.

In a democracy, you need to have a strong judicial system. You need freedom of speech, you need art, and you need a free press.

There is no greater threat to Washington, D.C., than Bernie Sanders, and they know it.

Rule of law has prevailed over Obama's unconstitutional executive overreach.