* “The Cold War split global civilization into two alternative forms, both of which promised people a better future. The Soviet Union undoubtedly lost. But then there appeared a strange Western utopia with no alternative, ruled over by economic technocrats who could do no wrong. Then that collapsed.”–Gleb Pavlovsky, former senior strategist for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
* “In dealing with Western businesses, intimidation is China’s policy of first resort.”–Elliot Kaufman,” Wall Street Journal.
* “The Syria decision contributes to the hardened impression that in foreign policy (Trump’s) all impulse, blithely operating out of his depth. It adds to the hardening suspicion that in negotiations he’s not actually tough; he’ll say yes to a lot of things, and some very bad things, to get the deal, the photo-op, the triumphant handshake.”–Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal.
* “The House under the Constitution sets its own rules, and the House has sole power over impeachment.”–House Judiciary Committee attorney Douglas Letter.
* “Given that your inquiry lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, or even the most elementary due process protections, the Executive Branch cannot be expected to participate in it.”–White House counsel Pat Cipollone, in declaring that the White House will halt any and all cooperation with the impeachment probe by House Democrats.
* “We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests.”–House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, on why he wants to hold impeachment-inquiry testimony behind closed doors.
* “Democrats know they can’t win on the facts, so they’re having to move it behind closed doors. I believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant.”–Georgia Congressman Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
* “(The Russians) sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election by harming Hillary Clinton’s chances of success and supporting Donald Trump at the direction of the Kremlin.”–Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report.
* “President Trump has indicted himself by obstructing justice, refusing to comply with a congressional inquiry … he’s already convicted himself.”–Joe Biden.
* “If Trump were cannier and more self-controlled, the march to autocracy might well be unstoppable. He has the backing of a party whose elected representatives have shown no sign of democratic scruples. He has de facto state media in the form of Fox News and the rest of the Murdoch empire. He has already managed to corrupt key government agencies, including the Justice Department.”–Paul Krugman, New York Times.
* “(Trump’s) not an ideological president in the sense of having policy formulas ready to implement; he’s instead a catalyst of conflict with the right’s opponents.”–Daniel McCarthy, Modern Age: A Conservative Quarterly.
* “If President Donald Trump serves the full 15 months that remain in his term of office, how bad will the damage be?”–Eugene Robinson, Washington Post.
* “Giuliani’s a hand grenade.”–Former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
* “Patriotism is not looking at our past through rose-colored glasses and a revisionist history; it is having the courage to examine more closely those areas that are broken, and it is believing in the power of the system to fix them.”–Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala.
* “Donald Trump may be the most unreligious president ever–an undisciplined force of corrosive evil. And yet he tweets comparisons to himself as the Messiah and bullies his way around the world with the blind support of white evangelical Christians.”–Timothy Egan, New York Times.
* “In the early years of this decade, back when people associated social media with Barack Obama or the Arab Spring, Twitter executives referred to their company as ‘the free-speech wing of the free-speech party.’ Sticks and stones and assault rifles could hurt us, but the internet was surely only a force for progress. No one believes that anymore.”–Andrew Marantz, author of “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians and the Hijacking of the American Conversation.”
* “Doubt is weakness in the age of the elevator pitch; nuance never trends on Twitter.”–David Von Drehle, the author of “Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year.”
* “The rich definitely pay less in taxes than they did in the past and less than they should.”–Jason Furman, Harvard economics professor and former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama.
* We’re going to end up with the world’s best standards.”–Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, describing his department’s efforts to eliminate the Common Core, create more understandable and measurable expectations and streamline testing.
* “I’m not sure why anybody would think that we’re trying to elbow anyone out. We’ve proven ourselves to be a really good regional partner.”–Craig Richard, president and CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, which is changing its name to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.
* “There’s not a competitive relationship going on with the chambers. We share a lot of members. This was just a natural, evolutionary move for us.”–Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bob Rohrlack, on plans to change the chamber’s name to Tampa Bay Chamber.
* “The purpose of a CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) really is that you don’t trust the government to spend money in an area where you think it needs to be spent.”–Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson.
* “It’s very, very important to keep the Rays in Tampa Bay. … There are many ways to get a stadium built.”–Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.