Quotes about congress
page 8

Ketanji Brown Jackson photo
Vivek Agnihotri photo
Vivek Agnihotri photo

“Their strategy was simple. Moral domination. Nehru was a thinker. But Rajiv, Sonia, and Rahul are no intellectuals. They took a different route. They redefined morality. Secularism included. Anti-Congress was new immoral. Pro-Hindu became anti-Muslim. India was morally polarized. Morality is subjective. No one can say with guarantee what is pure morality. Masses were forced to choose between moral standards (Secularism, unity in diversity, inclusive etc.) and quality of life (development). People who wanted quality of life were made to feel guilty. Hindus who wanted to celebrate their religious freedom were made to feel guilty. Muslims who wanted to be part of mainstream India were made to feel guilty. They filled India’s psyche with fear, hate and guilt. They hated all indigenous, grassroots thinkers. They hated Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, P.V. Narsimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and now Modi. They are the land grabbers of Sainik Farms and Adarsh Societies of India. They run NGOs. They run media. They coin useless and irrelevant jargon to confuse the masses. They have designations but no real jobs. They are irrelevant NRIs who want us to see a reality which doesn’t exist. They want a plebiscite in Kashmir. They defend stone-pelters. They want Maoists to participate in mainstream politics. They want Tejpal to be freed. Yaqub to be pardoned. But they want Modi to be hanged. They are the hijackers of national morality. Secularism included. They are the robbers of Indian treasury. They are the brokers of power. They are the pimps of secularism. They are the Intellectual Mafia.”

Vivek Agnihotri (1973) director

Urban Naxals (2018)

Vivek Agnihotri photo
Donald J. Trump photo
Adolf Hitler photo

“Shoot Gandhi and if that does not suffice to reduce them to submission, shoot a dozen leading members of Congress; and if that does not suffice, shoot 200 and so on until order is established. You will see how quickly they will collapse as soon as you make it clear that you mean business.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

Remarks to British government minister Lord Halifax at Berchtesgaden (19 November 1937), quoted in Ivone Kirkpatrick, The Inner Circle (1959), p. 97 and Andrew Roberts, ‘The Holy Fox’: The Life of Lord Halifax (1997), p. 72
1930s

Adolf Hitler photo

“I have sympathy for Mr. Roosevelt, because he marches straight toward his objectives over Congress, lobbies and bureaucracy.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

Hitler went on to note that he was the sole leader in Europe who expressed "understanding of the methods and motives of President Roosevelt."
New York Times (July 1933), as quoted from: Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography New York, NY, Anchor Books, Doubleday (1992) p. 312n
1930s

Mao Zedong photo
P. V. Narasimha Rao photo
P. V. Narasimha Rao photo
P. V. Narasimha Rao photo

“He surely failed as prime minister to prevent the tragedy at Ayodhya. But his rivals in the Congress did their own party such disservice by spreading the canard that his (and their) government was responsible for that crime. This, more than anything else, lost them the Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar… any dispassionate reading of recent political history will tell you that this is a self-inflicted injury. The Congress has itself built a mythology whereby the Muslims have come to hold their party as responsible for Babri as the BJP … If you take Justice Liberhan’s indictment of so many in the BJP seriously, you cannot at the same time dismiss his exoneration of Rao, and the government, and the Congress Party under him. You surely cannot put the clock back on so much injustice done to him, like not even allowing his body to be taken inside the AICC building. But the least you can do now is to give him a memorial spot too along the Yamuna as one of our more significant (and secular) prime ministers who led us creditably through five difficult years, crafted our post-Cold War diplomacy, launched economic reform and, most significantly, discovered the political talent and promise of a quiet economist called Manmohan Singh.”

P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) Indian politician

Shekhar Gupta in Tearing down Narasimha Rao http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/tearingdownnarasimharao/547260/1, The Indian Express, 7 September 2011.

Jeanine Áñez photo
Evo Morales photo

“Añez also faces a challenge to her legitimacy in Congress, where lawmakers loyal to Morales tried to hold new sessions that would undermine her claim to the presidency… Morales’ backers, who hold a two-thirds majority in Congress, boycotted the session that she called Tuesday night to formalize her claim to the presidency, preventing a quorum.”

Evo Morales (1959) Bolivian politician

Bolivia caught in a power struggle between Añez at home and Morales in exile https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/bolivia-caught-in-a-power-struggle-between-anez-at-home-and-morales-in-exile, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), (14 November 2019)
About

Evo Morales photo

“Morales upended politics in this nation long ruled by light-skinned descendants of Europeans by reversing deep-rooted inequality. The economy grew strongly thanks to a boom in prices of commodities and he ushered through a new constitution that created a new Congress with seats reserved for Bolivia’s smaller indigenous groups while also allowing self-rule for all indigenous communities.”

Evo Morales (1959) Bolivian politician

Bolivia caught in a power struggle between Añez at home and Morales in exile https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/bolivia-caught-in-a-power-struggle-between-anez-at-home-and-morales-in-exile, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), (14 November 2019)
About

Vladimir Lenin photo
Vladimir Lenin photo
Bernie Sanders photo
Chris Hedges photo
Joe Biden photo

“The Jewish people have contributed greatly to America. No group has had such an outsized influence per capita as all of you standing before you, and all of those who went before me and all of those who went before you … You make up 11 percent of the seats in the United States Congress. You make up one-third of all Nobel laureates … I think you, as usual, underestimate the impact of Jewish heritage. I really mean that. I think you vastly underestimate the impact you’ve had on the development of this nation.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2013-05-21 Biden: 'Jewish heritage is American heritage' Jennifer Epstein Politico https://www.politico.com/blogs/politico44/2013/05/biden-jewish-heritage-is-american-heritage-164525 and * 2013-05-22 Biden Praises Jews, Goes Too Far, Accidentally Thrills Anti-Semites Jonathan Chait Intelligencer New York Magazine http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/biden-praises-jews-goes-too-far.html
2013

James Madison photo

“Mr. Madison wished to relieve the sufferers, but was afraid of establishing a dangerous precedent, which might hereafter be perverted to the countenance of purposes very different from those of charity. He acknowledged, for his own part, that he could not undertake to lay his finger on that article in the Federal Constitution which granted a right of Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”

James Madison (1751–1836) 4th president of the United States (1809 to 1817)

Summation of Madison's remarks (10 January 1794) Annals of Congress, House of Representatives, 3rd Congress, 1st Session, p. 170 http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=004/llac004.db&recNum=82; the expense in question was for French refugees from the Haitian Revolution; this summation has been paraphrased as if a direct quote: "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."
1790s

John Conyers photo
Bhagwan Das photo
Tulsi Gabbard photo

“Here we go again! The US sending more troops to Middle East for what will be disastrous war with Iran. To prevent Trump and future presidents from waging war illegally (without Congress approval) we must sign my No More Presidential Wars Act.”

Tulsi Gabbard (1981) U.S. Representative from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district

Twitter post https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard, (18 Jun 2019)
Twitter account, June 2019

Tulsi Gabbard photo

“US support for Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war in Yemen must end. Over 85k children have died, tens of millions w/o food & water, creating worst humanitarian crisis in a generation — supported by the US and never authorized by Congress. This must end now.”

Tulsi Gabbard (1981) U.S. Representative from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district

Twitter account, January 2019
Source: (30 January 2019) https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1090738329258213377

Tulsi Gabbard photo
Tulsi Gabbard photo

“I served in a war in Iraq, a war that was launched based on lies and a war that was launched without evidence. And so the American people were duped… As a soldier, as an American, as a member of Congress, it is my duty and my responsibility to exercise skepticism any time anyone tries to send our service members into harm’s way or use our military to go in and start a new war.”

Tulsi Gabbard (1981) U.S. Representative from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district

Quoted by Kevin Gosztola in CNN Foreign Policy Gatekeepers Vilify Tulsi Gabbard for Her Anti-Intervention Dissent, Mintpress News https://www.mintpressnews.com/cnn-foreign-policy-gatekeepers-vilify-tulsi-gabbard-for-her-anti-intervention-dissent/256221/ (13 March 2019)
2019

Tulsi Gabbard photo
Tulsi Gabbard photo
William T. Sherman photo

“At Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, Fernandina, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville, the blacks may remain in their chosen or accustomed vocations; but on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves, subject only to the United States military authority, and the acts of Congress. By the laws of war, and orders of the President of the United States, the negro is free, and must be dealt with as such.”

William T. Sherman (1820–1891) American General, businessman, educator, and author.

He cannot be subjected to conscription, or forced military service, save by the written orders of the highest military authority of the department, under such regulations as the President or Congress may prescribe. Domestic servants, blacksmiths, carpenters, and other mechanics, will be free to select their own work and residence, but the young and able-bodied negroes must be encouraged to enlist as soldiers in the service of the United States, to contribute their share toward maintaining their own freedom, and securing their rights as citizens of the United States.
1860s, 1865, Special Field Order No. 15 (January 1865)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo

“Everybody knows someone in their life that is already an amazing public servant… Nominate that amazing public servant to take their service to the halls of Congress. Give them that nudge. My brother did it for me.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989) American politician

Quoted in [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez helps recruit a new wave of Democrats, NY Post https://nypost.com/2019/01/16/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-helps-recruit-a-new-wave-of-democrats/ (16 January 2019)
Quotes (2019)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo
David Duke photo

“Ilhan Omar is NOW the most important Member of the US Congress!”

David Duke (1950) American White nationalist, white supremacist, writer, right-wing politician, and a former Republican Louisiana …

David Duke, twitter, 4:35 AM - Mar 8, 2019

Fidel Castro photo

“Let me tell you a story: Once there was a republic. It had its constitution, its laws, its freedoms, a president, a congress and courts of law. Everyone could assemble, associate, speak and write with complete freedom.”

Fidel Castro (1926–2016) former First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba

ibid., p. 89-901
History Will Absolve Me (October 16th, 1953)

Jonah Goldberg photo
John F. Kennedy photo
David Lloyd George photo

“Practically the whole of the engineering establishments of this country were controlled by the State. He had seen resolutions passed by the Trades Congress about the nationalization of industry, but the Government had done it.”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech to the Trades Union Congress in Bristol (9 September 1915), quoted in The Times (10 September 1915), p. 10
Minister of Munitions

Joseph Heller photo
Rajendra Prasad photo
Edward Bellamy photo
Elizabeth Warren photo

“Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.”

Elizabeth Warren (1949) 28th United States Senator from Massachusetts

Donald Trump, referring to Warren, during an event honoring the Navajo code talkers on November 27, 2017. "Pocahontas" is a nickname that Trump has used to refer to Warren prior to that event, because she claims to have Native American Heritage with no evidence.

Jeremy Scahill photo
Vātsyāyana photo
Sania Mirza photo
Shankar Dayal Sharma photo

“As a constitutional expert, and a jurist he got unequivocal recognition from the Congress and non-Congress parties. They believed that the letter and spirit of the Constitution was safe in his hands…He was a spiritualist to the core.”

Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999) Indian politician

Source: Commissions and Omissions by Indian Presidents and Their Conflicts with the Prime Ministers Under the Constitution: 1977-2001, P.201.

Shankar Dayal Sharma photo
Shankar Dayal Sharma photo
Zail Singh photo

“After succeeding his mother, Rajiv Gandhi asked K. K. Tewary, a Congress MP, to make the reckless charge on the floor of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.”

Zail Singh (1916–1994) Indian politician and former President of India

Presidential Years:Zail Singh's posthumous defence of his controversial tenure

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed photo

“In the Congress hierarchy, he enjoyed an enviable position being a member of the Congress Working Committee for many years.”

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) the fifth President of India and a politician

Source: Great Muslims of undivided India, P.100

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy photo
Chandra Shekhar photo

“When in Congress, he, along with the other Young Turks, actively promoted bank nationalization and the abolition of privy purses and privileges.”

Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) Indian politician

In p. 61
The Long March: Profile of Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar

Chandra Shekhar photo

“I do not expect any problems to arise because we do not expect Mr. Chandra Shekhar to do anything that is inconsistent with Congress ideology and policies.”

Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) Indian politician

Vithal Gadgil in: Sanjoy Hazarika "Rival of Singh Becomes India Premier"

After extending support to Shekahr to form the government.

H. D. Deve Gowda photo
Amit Shah photo

“Amitbhai provided us more than double (Lok Sabha) seats in Uttar Pradesh. BJP won more seats in UP than what Congress secured in all states put together. This is the best example of what a Gujarati can do if given responsibility.”

Amit Shah (1964) Indian politician

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister Designate after winning the Lok Sabha election 2014 to the Press Trust of India, in Narendra Modi Bids Farewell to His Assembly Seat, Praises Aide Amit Shah (21 May 2014 ) http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/narendra-modi-bids-farewell-to-his-assembly-seat-praises-aide-amit-shah-527771.

Rajiv Gandhi photo
Gopal Krishna Gokhale photo
Bal Gangadhar Tilak photo

“The Congress movement was for a long time purely occidental in its mind, character and methods, confined to the English-educated few, founded on the political rights and interests of the people read in the light of English history and European ideals, but with no roots either in the past of the country or in the inner spirit of the nation…. To bring in the mass of the people, to found the greatness of the future on the greatness of the past, to infuse Indian politics with Indian religious fervour and spirituality are the indispensable conditions for a great and powerful political awakening in India. Others, writers, thinkers, spiritual leaders, had seen this truth. Mr. Tilak was the first to bring it into the actual field of practical politics….. There are always two classes of political mind: one is preoccupied with details for their own sake, revels in the petty points of the moment and puts away into the background the great principles and the great necessities, the other sees rather these first and always and details only in relation to them. The one type moves in a routine circle which may or may not have an issue; it cannot see the forest for the trees and it is only by an accident that it stumbles, if at all, on the way out. The other type takes a mountain-top view of the goal and all the directions and keeps that in its mental compass through all the deflections, retardations and tortuosities which the character of the intervening country may compel it to accept; but these it abridges as much as possible. The former class arrogate the name of statesman in their own day; it is to the latter that posterity concedes it and sees in them the true leaders of great movements. Mr. Tilak, like all men of pre-eminent political genius, belongs to this second and greater order of mind.”

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920) Indian independence activist

Sri Aurobindo, (From an introduction to a book entitled Speeches and Writings of Tilak.), quoted from Sri Aurobindo, ., Nahar, S., Aurobindo, ., & Institut de recherches évolutives (Paris). India's rebirth: A selection from Sri Aurobindo's writing, talks and speeches. Paris: Institut de Recherches Evolutives. 3rd Edition (2000). https://web.archive.org/web/20170826004028/http://bharatvani.org/books/ir/IR_frontpage.htm

Francis Escudero photo
Ulysses S. Grant photo
Samuel Adams photo

“And that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of time press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms; or to raise standing armies, unless when necessary for the defence of the United States, or of some one or more of them; or to prevent the people from petitioning, in a peaceable and orderly manner, the federal legislature, for a redress of grievances; or to subject the people to unreasonable searches and seizures of their persons, papers or possessions.”

Samuel Adams (1722–1803) American statesman, Massachusetts governor, and political philosopher

Rejected resolution for a clause to add to the first article of the U.S. Constitution, in the debates of the Massachusetts Convention of 1788 (6 February 1788); this has often been attributed to Adams, but he is nowhere identified as the person making the resolution in Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Held in the year 1788 And which finally ratified the Constitution of the United States. (1856) p. 86. https://archive.org/details/debatesandproce00peirgoog
Disputed

Martin Luther King, Jr. photo
Elizabeth Warren photo

“The American people deserve a Congress that worries less about helping big banks, and more about helping regular people who have been cheated on mortgages, on credit cards, on student loans and on credit reports.”

Elizabeth Warren (1949) 28th United States Senator from Massachusetts

As quoted in "Sen. Elizabeth Warren slams Republicans: Worry less about helping big banks" by Eric W. Dolan, in Raw Story (12 March 2013) https://www.rawstory.com/2013/03/sen-elizabeth-warren-slams-republicans-worry-less-about-helping-big-banks/
2013

Ralph Nader photo

“Congress... has become a secret tyrannical bastion of Wall Street, and that outrages people...”

Ralph Nader (1934) American consumer rights activist and corporate critic

"How The Rats Reformed The Congress" (2018)

Ralph Nader photo

“Democracy requires work. ...The more they feel they've got the members Congress on the run, the more energized they become.”

Ralph Nader (1934) American consumer rights activist and corporate critic

"How The Rats Reformed The Congress" (2018)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg photo
Robert B. Reich photo
Ralph Nader photo
Richard D. Wolff photo
Arnab Goswami photo

“Congress leaders have been intimidating me and threatening me with physical violence. I am deeply grateful that the Supreme Court has noted the violence against me and my wife.”

Arnab Goswami (1973) Indian news anchor

https://www.opindia.com/2020/04/arnab-goswami-grateful-supreme-court-interim-protection-congress-fir/ https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/grateful-to-sc-for-upholding-constitutional-right-to-report-broadcast-arnab-goswami20200424155249/ https://www.newsx.com/national/arnab-goswami-deeply-grateful-to-sc-for-defending-his-freedom-of-expression-says-congress-filed-over-150-firs-to-intimidate-him.html

Dorothy Thompson photo

“All Communists speak of the Soviet Union as their ‘Fatherland.’ At this seventh Congress, Marcel Cachin, one of the French delegates, said, ‘Comrades, all the parties of the Communist International have never been more attached than at the present time to their Fatherland, the Soviet Union.’”

Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) American journalist and radio broadcaster

Source: "Let the Record Speak" 1939, “The Truth about Communism” https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051180423&view=1up&seq=5 (1948), p. 8

John F. Kennedy photo

“When I was a Congressman I never realized how important Congress was, but now I do.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Source: 1962, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York

John F. Kennedy photo
John F. Kennedy photo
John F. Kennedy photo
John F. Kennedy photo
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez photo

“No lawmaker should be cashing in on their public service and selling their contacts and expertise to the highest bidder... don't think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you've served in Congress. Keeping it real, the elephant in the room with passing a lobbying ban on members requires a nearly-impossible discussion about congressional pay.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989) American politician

AOC Calls for Ban on Revolving Door as Study Shows Two-Thirds of Recently Departed Lawmakers Now K Street Lobbyists https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/30/aoc-calls-ban-revolving-door-study-shows-two-thirds-recently-departed-lawmakers-nowCommon Dreams, Eoin Higgins,] (30 May 2019)
2019

Asaduddin Owaisi photo

“We don’t care when you do it, but when we wear green, we will color everything green…insha allah. And no other color will stand before our green insha allah, neither Modi’s color, or Congress’…no one else, but only our green will be there..green, green, green…”

Asaduddin Owaisi (1969) Indian politician

Source: – MP Asaduddin Owaisi, head of AIMIM. attributed, in a speech, https://twitter.com/ANI/status/944450807755182081 https://www.hindupost.in/politics/asaduddin-owaisi-threatens-islamize-entire-country/ https://www.hindupost.in/dharma-religion/we-ruled-you-for-centuries-says-sufi-leader/

Ro Khanna photo

“We are supporting Saudi Arabia while they inflict unthinkable human rights violations on the Yemeni people. Congress must do its job and stop providing military support and arm sales to the Saudi government.”

Ro Khanna (1976) U.S. Representative from California

Source: Twitter post https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/1080272966250708992 (2 January 2019)

Laurence Tribe photo
Laurence Tribe photo
Joe Biden photo

“I urge [the] Congress to move promptly on the COVID funding bill. This virus knows no borders; we must continue to save lives here at home and around the world.”

Joe Biden (1942) 47th Vice President of the United States (in office from 2009 to 2017)

2022, May 2022
Source: Statement by President Joe Biden on Funding for COVID-⁠19 and Ukraine https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/09/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-funding-for-covid-19-and-ukraine/

John Lee Ka-chiu photo

“No country will allow its legislative structure, parliament or congress to be filled up by treasonists, foreign agents or proxies of foreign forces. The Hong Kong electoral system must therefore be protected from exploitation and from foreign interference.”

John Lee Ka-chiu (1957) Chief Executive-elect of Hong Kong

"Speech by CS at online side event on Hong Kong-related issues during 49th session of United Nations Human Rights Council" https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202203/16/P2022031600619.htm (16 March 2022)

Sergey Lavrov photo

“Congress is a very special group of people. More than 80 percent of them [have] never left the United States. They live in their own walls. So I’m not amazed about this Russophobia which is being displayed by the Congress at the moment.”

Sergey Lavrov (1950) Russian politician and Foreign Minister

"Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says 80% of U.S. lawmakers have never traveled abroad" https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2014/dec/17/sergey-lavrov/russian-foreign-minister-sergey-lavrov-says-80-us-/, Politfact, 17 December 2014