Richard Mentor Johnson Quotes
We are afraid to trust ourselves, and pretend that we are afraid to trust the people. My hopes have rested and always will rest upon the people …. The people will rise in their majesty, and the world will be interested in the spectacle.
Richard M. Johnson, 1780-1841, U. S. Congressman and Senator (Democratic Republican, KY), Vice President of the United States, Congressional Debate, 1810
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Eldest son of Robert Walpole
What is fascinating about his perception of governance is that if this quotation were viewed in isolation, one might conclude that Khamenei was a populist whose political views do not differ much from those of Thomas Jefferson. But then Islam enters the picture. His belief is that the Koran and the word of the Prophet trumps everything else including the people. So he has little trouble passing laws or enacting regulations that are opposed by the vast majority of Iranians. In a Presidential and parliamentary election, the candidates most popular were disqualified by Khamenei on the grounds that they were not sufficiently consonant with his interpretation of Islam. So in reality his personal view of Islam comes first and secondary to that is the will of the people.
The slogan was used from ~1935-1959
Richard Mentor Johnson was an American lawyer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren. He is the only vice president elected by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. Johnson also represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. He began and ended his political career in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
