Gouverneur Morris Quotes
One interest must be opposed to another interest. Vices, as they exist, must be turned against each other.
Gouverneur Morris, 1752-1816, U. S. Commissioner to England & U. S. Minister to France, U. S. Senator (Federalist, NY), Debate, Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia, 1787
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
For an earlier expression of this notion see James Madison.
There are many democracies that have run into this problem at many times. Even the United States had situations like this. The Adams-Jefferson Presidential Contest caused President Adams to curtail civil rights so he could not be as viciously attacked. The polarization after the first Black was elected president in 2008 was another period of destructive contention and polarization.
In a zero sum system whenever one party gains, the other must lose, and if one loses, the other has a corresponding gain. At other times, legislation was not a zero sum game. Many Congressmen believed that if good legislation would be passed, BOTH parties would benefit as would the country. If poor or no legislation were passed, that would be bad for all.
Explaining his practice of not engaging in public debate over historical policies and disagreements that occurred when he was in office:
At that time, the Republicans in Congress were able to block almost all the wanted by the Democratic President Barack Obama. Much of the behavior was motivated by a disagreement with the President’s proposals, but in many cases, the President had accepted and recommended what the Republicans had wanted (and in many cases had voted for earlier). The Republicans killed these proposals also going over the passive aggressive line that Wetzler had posited. Even when public opinion fell to less than 10 percent approval (lower than used car salesmen) for the Congressional Republicans, they were so locked in to the pattern of passive aggressive behavior, that they could not change.
First non-Congress Party governor of an Indian State (Communist)
Gouverneur Morris was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the United States Constitution and has been called the "Penman of the Constitution." In an era when most Americans thought of themselves as citizens of their respective states, Morris advanced the idea of being a citizen of a single union of states. He was also one of the most outspoken opponents of slavery among all of those who were present at the Constitutional Convention. He represented New York in the United States Senate from 1800 to 1803.
