John Ashcroft Quotes

Democracy in America is more than a two minute sound byte.

America was founded by men who understood that the threat of domestic tyranny is as great as any threat from abroad

A republic—if you can keep it.

I strongly believe that we as a nation can be both secure and free.

We're quite lucky that we've got political freedoms. We should be using them.

Democracies, unlike dictatorships, are forgiving and generous, but they cannot survive unless they fight.

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.

How can you be conservative and justify wiretapping people without a warrant? We're supposed to be the party of personal freedom and civil liberties.

It's actually very easy for democracy to disappear.

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

Political freedom is a political reading of the Bible.

We are expected to believe that anyone who objects to the Department of Homeland Security or the USA Patriot Act is a terrorist, and that the only way to preserve our freedom is to hand it over to the government for safekeeping.

The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.

As someone who is in awe and grateful every day to be in a country where freedom of the press, free speech and free elections are a way of life, I am wowed, amazed and excited by the opportunity to moderate a 2012 presidential debate.

In a democracy one must have the right to express oneself and that's what I do, even if it displeases.

The people want to go back to the time when democracy was in full bloom.

The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness which the ambitious call, and the ignorant believe to be liberty.

Democracy must first be safe for America before it can be safe for the world

Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers.

Democracy is much too important to be left to public opinion.

All history shows the necessity, in order to the preservation of liberty, of every subjects having a watchful eye on the conduct of Kings, Ministers, and Parliament, and of every subjects being not only secured, but encouraged in alarming his fellow subjects on occasion of every attempt upon public liberty.

Creating a democracy is never easy.

Domestic intelligence activity has threatened and undermined the Constitutional rights of Americans to free speech, association and privacy. It has done so primarily because the Constitutional system for checking abuse of power has not been applied.

We would not have a national discussion without the actions of Edward Snowden. Democracy is at work because of Edward Snowden.

The reason the U. S. has never had a major terrorist problem is that you can't rally public support of terrorism, because the channels are open to legitimate protest.