Walter E. Edge Quotes

We have to worry about protecting the Constitution.

… take the Constitution out of cold storage!

We are a constitutional democracy. We must deal with things properly within the framework of the law and then the constitution.

The most fundamental purpose of government is defense, not empire.

No government, no head of government can last if the people feel that this government is not going to defend the security of the country.

In a society pledged to self-government, it is never true that, in the long run, the security of the nation is endangered by the people.

Under the Constitution, the Militia must ever be estimated the bulwark of civil and individual liberty. Directed by public sentiment, it will guard us from the oppression of power; regulated by wisdom, and patronized by the Government, it will secure us from anarchy; officered, trained and supported by the States, it is the guarantee of their sovereignty and union; and properly armed and disciplined, ... it forms an impenetrable barrier to the invader.

Ought they [the French] not therefore, as speedily as possible, be removed out of this Country for the better Security of British Subjects and British Trade?

For over 200 years, this nation has adhered to the rule of law with unparalleled success. A shift to a nation based on extra-constitutional authority is prohibited, as well as ill-advised.

There is a problem. We do have this little thing called the Constitution.

It may seem obvious. A government that cannot provide security for its citizens will soon find itself running a weak or failed state.

No place is weak where there are men capable of defending it.

The first duty of a state is to provide for its own conservation. Until that point is secured, it can preserve and protect nothing else. But, if possible, it has greater interest in acting according to strict law than even the subject himself. For if the people see that the law is violated to crush them, they will certainly despise the law. They, or their party, will be easily led to violate it, whenever they can, by all the means in their power. Except in cases of direct war, whenever government abandons law, it proclaims anarchy.

A constitution is made of a spirit, institutions, and a practice.

A commander in chief signs on not to reflect public opinion but to defend the country and the constitution..

Where there is law, and where there is government, there is security.

I took an oath when I became secretary of homeland security to defend and support the Constitution.

The example that America knows how to govern itself is one of the compelling aspects of our national security.

Certainly I support the Constitution, and I respect people's privacy, but I also think we need to err on the side of protecting us.

Next to upholding the Constitution of the United States, the president's highest duty is to protect the security of this country - our national security.

We should encourage governments to be sustained by citizens' taxes - that is, democracies. Democracies will be enduring allies of America.

The Framers of the Constitution knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the issues of foreign policy and defense are fully in the hands of the president.

Every prime minister ... has the responsibility to provide security for his people.

Obviously, I'll keep fighting to uphold the Constitution.