Stealing is stealing. I don’t care if it’s on the Internet or you’re breaking into a warehouse somewhere – it’s theft.
Patrick Leahy
That the Islamic State is guilty of horrific atrocities is common knowledge. But most Americans seem unaware of the human toll of our own actions, the consequences this has for our national security and our reputation, and that, too often, the civilian casualties we cause are the result of avoidable mistakes. This must change.
Patrick Leahy
I remember George W. Bush, who spoke about bringing the country together. Here’s a man who knew that he lost the popular vote but ended up with the Electoral College vote. He had lost that, and he spoke in a very inclusive way of bringing Republicans and Democrats together. It reflected what a president should do.
Patrick Leahy
Judiciary is where my passion is.
Patrick Leahy
We need to consider nominations as thoroughly and carefully as the American people deserve. No one is entitled to a free pass to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
Patrick Leahy
A Grateful Dead concert is much more than the music: it’s an experience, almost like being in a family of thousands of people.
Patrick Leahy
You get fifteen democrats in a room, and you get twenty opinions.
Patrick Leahy
Our alliances and our credibility are crucial elements of our working capital in advancing America’s interests in the world, and they have been eroded over the last four years.
Patrick Leahy
The American public is sick and tired of being lied to.
Patrick Leahy
The rights of copyright holders need to be protected, but some draconian remedies that have been suggested would create more problems than they would solve.
Patrick Leahy
Why do the President and Vice-President constantly change the subject when asked to explain why things are going so badly in Iraq? The answer is simple. They have been consistently wrong about Iraq, and the results speak for themselves.
Patrick Leahy
There have been 111 Justices in the Supreme Court of the United States. Only three have been women. If she is confirmed, Solicitor General Kagan will bring the Supreme Court to an historical high-water mark, with three women concurrently serving as Justices.
Patrick Leahy
I’m a gun owner.
Patrick Leahy
A lot of people in my state of Vermont are gun owners.
Patrick Leahy
A victim is a victim is a victim. We should stop setting up standards that say we will have one standard of law enforcement for one group of victims but not for another.
Patrick Leahy
I’m an old trial lawyer.
Patrick Leahy
A bedrock principle of our justice system is ensuring a fair day in court, something that is especially important for children who cannot advocate for themselves.
Patrick Leahy
It is common sense that in our immigration courts, where children fleeing devastating violence abroad often find themselves, kids need lawyers to advocate on their behalf. After all, lawyers go to school for years to understand the nuances of our legal system.
Patrick Leahy
If the United States is to be a beacon of hope around the world, our actions have to match our ideals.
Patrick Leahy
Everyone in Congress wants our country to lead, to build alliances, to help American companies compete, and to protect the interests and security of our citizens. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t expect others to follow if you can’t lead, and you can’t lead if you don’t pay your way.
Patrick Leahy
Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘A people who would trade liberty for security deserve neither.’ I think we can have both. We can keep our liberties. We can have our security.
Patrick Leahy
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of violent extremist groups has grown across multiple continents. From Syria to Somalia to Pakistan, the United States is combating many of these groups – usually with bombs and missiles. Large numbers of innocent people are invariably caught in the middle.
Patrick Leahy
Contrary to what some believe, taking all reasonable and feasible precautions to protect civilians – and mitigating the resulting anger when we harm them – does not need to impede military operations.
Patrick Leahy
If we harm civilians when it could reasonably have been avoided, and if we fail to fairly and promptly help the innocent victims, the local population will turn against us – and make the fight against violent extremists even more difficult.
Patrick Leahy
Batman doesn’t have any superpowers. He has to use his brain and his courage. That’s what always appealed to me.
Patrick Leahy
I’m not in good enough shape to be Batman. I’ll just be Bruce Wayne.
Patrick Leahy
Trump would either be the Scarecrow or the Joker.
Patrick Leahy
Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do.
Patrick Leahy
I relax more when I’m behind the camera than anything else. I love that.
Patrick Leahy
About the only gun law we have in Vermont is during deer season. If you have a semi-automatic, you can’t have more than six rounds in it.
Patrick Leahy
Our nation relies on immigrants.
Patrick Leahy
It is wrong for the federal government to deny benefits or privileges to couples who have lawfully wed.
Patrick Leahy
The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court.
Patrick Leahy
The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons.
Patrick Leahy
Maher Arar’s case stands as a sad example of how we have been too willing to sacrifice our core principles to overarching government power in the name of security, when doing so only undermines the principles we stand for and makes us less safe.
Patrick Leahy
When I first came to the Senate, people in both parties went out of their way to have personal relationships.
Patrick Leahy