My FAVORITE part of Al Gore's January 16, 2006 speech:
Listen to audio excerpt
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT GORE DELIVERS REMARKS ON CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
JANUARY 16, 2006
SPEAKER: AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT
The founders of our country faced dire threats. If they failed in their endeavors, they would have been hung as traitors. The very existence of our country was at risk. Yet in the teeth of those dangers, they insisted on establishing the full Bill of Rights.
Is our Congress today in more danger than were their predecessors when the British army was marching on the Capitol?
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Is the world more dangerous than when we faced an ideological enemy with tens of thousands of nuclear missiles ready to be launched on a moment's notice to completely annihilate the country?
(APPLAUSE)
Is America really in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march, when the last generation had to fight and win two world wars simultaneously?
It is simply an insult to those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they did.
(APPLAUSE)
And yet they faithfully protected our freedom and now it's up to us to do the very same thing.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: We have a duty as Americans to defend out citizens' rights not only to life but also to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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It is therefore vital in our current circumstances that immediate steps be taken to safeguard our Constitution against the present danger posed by the intrusive overreaching on the part of the executive branch and the president's apparent belief that he need not live under the rule of law.
I endorse the words of Bob Barr when he said, and I quote, "The president has dared the American people to do something about it. For the sake of the Constitution, I hope they will."