This Week In Quotes: 11/14 – 11/20

The percentage of federal prosecutions tried by juries declined from 19 percent in 1980 to 3 percent today, as prosecutors have huge advantages over defense counsel and throw a great raft of counts against a defendant who declines to roll over. The prosecutor wins most of the cases that are tried and, as he can decide on the number and level of gravity of counts charged, defendants can face as much as ten times as heavy a sentence if they plead guilty as they would if they try the case and, as usually happens, lose. Rakoff does not mention that the high probability of successful prosecution is enhanced by plea bargains with witnesses who are threatened with prosecution for conspiracy to obstruct justice if they do not jog their memories to recall damaging evidence against an accused in exchange for immunity from prosecution, including for perjury. — Conrad Black

President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left. — John Boehner on Obama’s amnesty

After the 2012 campaign, liberal journalists swarmed around Republican Party chair Reince Priebus offering what was called an “autopsy” on every way Republicans failed, with a special emphasis on more outreach to minority voters. Democrats and their media enablers painted a picture of demographic doom for an aging white Republican base.

Two years later, Republicans made dramatic gains among minority voters. In House races across America, Republicans won 50 percent of the Asian vote to 49 percent for Democrats. Republicans won 38 percent of the Hispanic vote in House races. Gov. Sam Brownback drew 47 percent of Hispanics in Kansas, and Gov-elect Greg Abbott pulled in 44 percent of Hispanics in Texas. Support for Obama among Hispanics has been cut in half. — Brent Bozell

Barack Obama’s amnesty for illegal aliens is unconstitutional, immoral and lawless. Meanwhile, Democrats will not only be in the minority in both houses of Congress, facing the largest GOP House majority since 1949. They will likely hold just 18 statehouses and both chambers in only 11 state legislatures. — — Brent Bozell

Our rogue president has crossed an historic line, and so has the republic. Future presidents will cite the “Obama precedent” when they declare they will henceforth not enforce this or that law, because of a prior commitment to some noisy constituency. We have just taken a monumental step away from republicanism toward Caesarism. For this is rule by diktat, the rejection of which sparked the American Revolution. — Pat Buchanan

In his attempt to troll the hard right, Obama has actually handed them a wonderful gift by killing comprehensive immigration reform dead. Legislative amnesty is finished, it’s done, it’s pining for the fjords. Conservative Republicans get to finally advance border and enforcement reforms without even dealing with those here illegally! It’s just what the Bob Goodlattes of the world have wanted to do all along: ditch the clunky amnesty tradeoffs and deal with citizenship issues last, only after securing the border. It’s the Republican establishment, consultant and donor classes, and the Chamber who are closest to the blast radius on this, turning anyone viewed as pro-amnesty toxic overnight. They will be viewed by the GOP base as supportive of the president’s overreach despite all denials (“I was in favor of what he did but not how he did it” is always a weak position), which will make for some very awkward defenses in the 2016 stakes. — Ben Domenech

For millennia, good manners were understood as the means by which strangers showed each other respect. Now, too many people demand respect but have lost the ability, or desire, to show it in return. — Jonah Goldberg

The Constitution is clear: It is Congress’s duty to write the nation’s laws and, once they are enacted, it is the president’s responsibility to enforce them. Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This clause compels the president to enforce all constitutionally valid acts of Congress, regardless of his administration’s view of their wisdom. That is a duty, not an option. — Rep. Bob Goodlatte

Loving someone isn’t a reason to accept bad behavior without challenging it. Show me a young black male that has a good dad or a strong male role model, and who can read, write, speak well and has good work ethic and I’ll show you someone who will succeed in life. Show me a black male who speaks as though English is his second language, knows the latest top ten hits on the FM dial, every reality show star on MTV, BET or ETV, and wears his pants under his butt and I’ll show you a young black angry male with little chance of success unless he makes it in the NBA, NFL, or as a hip hop star. — Carl Jackson

When I’m in the hood, I’m not concerned when I spot a police officer, I’m relieved. Law abiding citizens typically don’t have to worry about cops. Truth be known, black ladies clutch their purses in the hood too, and black men watch their backs. If there were more black heroes walking the streets of Ferguson perhaps the protestors would be more concerned with extending their hands for a handshake, rather than raising their hands to cops in surrender. — — Carl Jackson

As I am fond of saying, “The existence of a problem does not therefore imply the existence of a solution.” It is not inevitably true that there is some policy solution that would be better than the status quo, even if we really dislike the status quo. — Megan McCardle

President Obama also said that: “The problem is that I’m the president of the United States, I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed.”

Apparently, America now has its first emperor.

And he has issued an imperial order to dissolve America’s borders. Millions more will enter and demand the same amnesty benefits as those who came before. The entire moral foundation and consistency of our laws will have been eviscerated. — Senator Jeff Sessions

“So what we have here is a president who is refusing to carry out federal law simply because he disagrees with Congress’s policy choices. That is an exercise of executive power that even the most stalwart defenders of an energetic executive — not to mention the Framers — cannot support.” — John Yoo

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