David Bonior Quotes

In a democracy, supposedly we hold power by what we do at the ballot box, so therefore the more we know about political power the better our choices should be and the better, in theory, our democracy should be.

There are different ways to get responsive government leaders but one of the more effective ways is to have them democratically elected.

The ballot box is a license to govern, not a mandate to rule.

It is unfortunate that people believe that in order to democratise something you have to get politicians out of the system.

Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.

The democratic process is only as great as the people who participate in it.

In a democratic set-up, people who are being governed should also be a part of the governing system. They should be drafted into the governance.

The Election Assistance Commission represents a major, unprecedented commitment from the federal government to sustained freedom and vibrant democracy. I am humbled by the prospect of being one its charter members.

The submission of free people to the executive authority of government, is no more than a compliance with laws which they themselves have enacted.

Government is not a bottom line enterprise. You can get yourself elected ... but you can't fire the legislature if they won't do what you want.

Although elections are not perfect tools for democracy, they reinforce the relationship between the people and their leaders, empowering citizens to remove and replace their governments in a peaceful and orderly manner. The only basis for a peaceful society is providing people with the opportunity to express their opinions and their will, and elections are instrumental in doing so.

If we were left solely to the wordy wit of legislators in Congress for our guidance, uncorrected by the seasonal experience and the effectual complaints of the people, America would not long retain her rank among the nations.

Wherever you have votes, you have power.

Presidents come from the people and the should return to the people.

Frequent elections by the people furnish the only protection, under the constitution, against the abuse of acknowledged legislative power.

We enter parliament in order to supply ourselves, in the arsenal of democracy, with its own weapons…. If democracy is so stupid as to give us free tickets and salaries for this … work, that is its affair.

Public participation in the process of government is the essence of democracy.

I would never want to trade a vote for a gavel.

We don’t trust government, but we need government….Government didn’t land here from Mars. We elected them.

We all know that in democracies, some of these [necessary] reforms are unpopular.

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

It is a very good warning to all of the dictators. If you lose an election, you have to go gacefully, or you will be disgraced.

I fear no motion of no confidence or impeachment, for they are the lawful mechanisms for the people of this beautiful country to remove their president.

I just accept that, if my party and my compatriots wish that I be removed from office, they must exercise that right and do so in the manner prescribed in the Constitution.

Democracy only has substance if there's the rule of law. That is, if people believe that the votes are going to be counted, and they are counted. If they believe that there's a judiciary out there that will make sense of things if there's some challenge. If there isn't rule of law, people will be afraid to vote the way they want to vote.