Janet Napolitano Quotes

The Bush administration doesn't particularly like public participation. It makes them look bad.

A statesman, we are told, should follow public opinion. Doubtless, as a coachman follows his horses; having firm hold on the reins and guiding them.

What is the primary purpose of a political leader? To build a majority. If voters care about parking lots, then talk about parking lots.

I've found that when you roll up your sleeves and join people in their daily work, they tend to open up quite a bit and let you know what they really think about the issues facing our country and what kind of job they think the government is doing.

There is a continuous stream of opinions on governance issues expressed daily, not only in our Parliament and in the print media, but also on talk-radio and social media.

Here's what I've found in Louisiana: The voters want to know what you believe, what you stand for, and what you plan to do, not what shade your skin is.

If one of my colleagues wants to block a bill, they should stand up in front of the American people and explain why.

Voters cannot hold officials responsible if they do not know what government is doing, or which parts of government are doing what.

President's are compelled to shout across the gap between politics and society.

Politicians must let voters know what they think about issues before the election. Judges should not.

Candidates talk about issues that voters want to hear about.

As for transparency of our proceedings everyone is free to contact their government and find out what issues are being discussed.

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

The inertia of the governed cannot be disentangled from the indifference of the government. American leaders have both a circular and a deliberate relationship to public opinion.

To some degree it matters who's in office, but it matters more how much pressure they're under from the public.

Ask yourself, have you ever heard any of your PAP MPs ask the hard questions? As a Singaporean, you have a right to information that the Government is refusing to answer.

No one questions the right of individuals to go to the Central Lobby to explain their views to their own Member of Parliament. It is important for those in power to hear arguments in favour of policies from all sides and ought to lead to better decision-making.

The disconnect between what people think and what the political leaders are actually doing is something that we really need to start raising.

Political books are so often written from the perspective of the politicians, not from the point of view of the people.

The reality of government is we are all very busy day-to-day, and often, the discussions about very deeply held views on things - there isn't the time and space to do that.

We need to be constantly reminded that this is a representative democracy, and we need to be in tune to what people are talking about.

There are a lot of problems with democracy. We need to think about how to find the people most qualified for the job.

Politicians... say what they say - you might get every now and again a genuine one, innit? But I think people, like, as a whole make the difference.

Look, the people will elect the government they think best.

Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.