Alan K. Simpson Quotes

Our laws to be wholesome need not be enacted in a palace.

Self government cannot work if the people do not know what their rulers are doing and why.

If certain selected bodies of men, deputed on these principles, determine contrary to the wishes and expectations of their constituents, the people have an undoubted right to reject their decisions, to call for a revision of their conduct, to depute others in their room, or if they think proper, to demand further time for deliberation on matters of the greatest moment: …

I'm a lawmaker, but I really don't like laws.

Our government should speak a common language with the American people - plain English.

The essence of good government is trust.

If you present good government, then elections look after themselves.

Democracy must live as it thinks and think as it lives

We are a government that does its homework and listens to the public.

Throughout my first term in office, we have taken many steps to keep my commitment to make my work in Congress as transparent and accessible as possible.

Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.

Good ideas are the backbone of good government.

What's wrong is that we are not participating to make this the type of government it needs to be.

In the 21st century, the countries that thrive will be the ones where citizens know their voices will be heard because the institutions are transparent.

It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.

In Parliament we debate on and we decide the laws that are going to govern the country.

Government will no longer be run on the whims of individuals.

In a democracy, citizens pass judgment on their government, and if they are kept in the dark about what their government is doing, they cannot be in a position to make well-grounded decisions.

Representative government demands an ongoing conversation between legislators and constituents.

A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.

But democracy isn't a state of perfection. It has to be improved, and that means constant vigilance.

The time has come for justice at the ballot box, and justice in the courts, and justice in the legislative halls, and justice in the governor's office.

The Senate floor is and always has been the great arena of our democracy. I spent eight years in my younger life as a boxer, and sometimes when I enter the chamber, I think, 'This is the ring. The American people can see us here and listen to our arguments. This is where the fights matter.'

People must live with the laws that we make.

Dialoging is the first principle of good government.