Institutional Norms Quotes

Gingrich was a far more volatile and aggressive individual than Boehner, but the institutional norms of self-restraint, and perhaps even self-interest, have broken down under the pressure of an increasingly abnormal Republican Party.

The Oval Office symbolizes... the Constitution, the hopes and dreams, and I'm going to say democracy. And when you have a dress code in the Supreme Court and a dress code on the floor of the Senate, floor of the House, I think it's appropriate to have an expectation that there will be a dress code that respects the office of the President.

From my perspective the idea of resisting a democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him and, you know, really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president, that is where the shredding of our norms and our institutions is occurring.

In a Congressional ethics investigation of members there is a conflict of interest…in a sense, the norms and practices of the institution are on trial.

There is nothing normal about removing the FBI director, as a general matter. It's an extraordinary measure. This is an office that is typically served for a term of years, 10 years, to be precise.

The way the Army does things is sometimes a little strange.

For instance, in places like universities, where everyone speaks so rationally, it is necessary for a kind of enchanter to appear.

There is a piece of me that likes to fondly imagine my maverick and rebellious nature. But, more accurately, I like to have a nice and cosy institution that I can rub up against a little bit.

Does management resist the institutional imperative?

The Senate is, in a way, the last primitive society in the world. As civilization progresses we honor all the ancient principals of seniority and respect for our elders and occupancy. Territorial imperative runs very strongly in the Senate. And our ultimate test is a trial by ordeal—which we practice in the filibuster.

We should like to have some towering geniuses, to reveal us to ourselves in colour and fire, but of course they would have to fit into the pattern of our society and be able to take orders from sound administrative types.