* “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.