The legislator is like the navigator of a ship on the high seas. He can steer the vessel on which he sails, but he cannot alter its construction, raise the wind, or stop the waves from swelling beneath his feet.
The form of law which I propose would be as follows: In a state which is desirous of being saved from the greatest of all plagues-not faction, but rather distraction-there should exist among the citizens neither extreme poverty nor, again, excessive wealth, for both are productive of great evil. . . Now the legislator should determine what is to be the limit of poverty or of wealth.
The job of a legislator is much more fixing existing law, revising it, improving it, than it is passing something that doesn't exist.
For legislators make the citizens good by forming habits in them, and this is the wish of every legislator, and those who do not effect it miss their mark, and it is in this that a good constitution differs from a bad one.
[The poet] must write as the interpreter of nature and the legislator of mankind, and consider himself as presiding over the thoughts and manners of future generations, as a being superior to time and place.
That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary.
Any legislator who says he doesn't see the downside hasn't done his homework
Carolyn [Maloney] is the kind of legislator who, whether she's in the majority or the minority, whether her party is in the majority or the minority, she doesn't take "No" for an answer, and she frequently calls women leaders and say, "I think we should do this. This is really necessary for women. " And so she hangs in there and gets bills passed when people think it's not possible.
But there is merit even in the mentally retarded legislator. He asks the questions that everyone is afraid to ask for fear of seeming simple.
From dwarf tossing to drug taking: The legislator has no place in voluntary exchanges between consenting adults, as dodgy and as dangerous as these might be.
In all forms of government the people is the true legislator.
Violence against women is as American as apple pie. I know, not only as a legislator, but from personal experience.
As a legislator, I saw how effective I could be by being transparent, posting and explaining all of my votes.
There's no conscious plan here; my whole life in politics as a state legislator and in Congress has been about strengthening the middle class.
I was a Georgia state legislator for a great many years
But the wisdom and authority of the legislator are seldom victorious in a contest with the vigilant dexterity of private interest.
No man can be a competent legislator who does not add to an upright intention and a sound judgment a certain degree of knowledge of the subject on which he is to legislate.
It is not true that the legislator has absolute power over our persons and property. The existence of persons and property preceded the existence of the legislator, and his function is only to guarantee their safety.
In the end, I think part of my problem was that I was a better legislator than I was a politician.
What I have absolutely no sympathy with is the legislator, the man who seeks, for his own profit, to exploit the weaknesses of those who are unable to help themselves and then to fasten some moral superscription upon it. This I loathe so much that I cannot conceivably explain how much it is.
