Trump Administration
Floor Speech
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Mr. WYDEN. I thank my colleague very much.
I just want to make sure, from a parliamentary standpoint, would the Senator from Oregon yield for my question?
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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President and colleagues, I want to start by commending my partner from Oregon, who has now been on the floor for close to 18 hours. What he is doing is ringing the alarm bells about authoritarianism in America. It is an important public service.
Let me begin by saying, the Wyden family certainly knows a thing or two about watching a democracy slide towards authoritarian rule. I wrote in my book about how the courageous women in my family, in the face of the Nazi takeover of the German republic, recognized the very real threat of the growing authoritarianism in Germany. They pushed the rest of the family to recognize what was happening to their democracy when some of the men didn't want to face reality. Because of the vigilance of women, I am standing here today in the Senate.
Now, further, on this point, as my colleague knows, during the protests in Portland this past weekend, Federal agents dragged a 4- foot-6 blind man named Quinn across a driveway and detained him for over an hour. Apparently, they thought he didn't move out of their way fast enough. It is hard to imagine--it has been reported in publications, in the Oregonian and the like--how anyone could see Quinn as a threat.
As he put it: I think they wanted to make a point, so they picked the weakest person they could find and made a big show about it.
What Donald Trump and the Vice President are offering us is, indeed, an authoritarian playbook: Attack the weakest in order to intimidate the rest of us. That is why it is the obligation of all Americans to pay attention to all of the discussions on this topic and to speak out and not yield. The American abolitionists told me that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty to keep the powerful from stealing from the many for the few.
Senator Merkley, I am interested in what you think Americans should do to secure the benefits of liberty for themselves and their families and future generations and what do you want Americans to take from your speech today?
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Mr. WYDEN. That is correct.
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Mr. WYDEN. Senator Merkley, you have said it very well.
It seems to me America is the last bastion of liberty in the world. There is nowhere to flee to, no mighty republic that stands if American democracy fails.
I want to commend my partner from Oregon for taking this exceptionally important stand. This is a message, particularly for all of America, and it is high time it be made on the Senate floor, and I commend my colleague.
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Mr. WYDEN. I know you have to ask permission. I just want to say that today has been an extraordinary day for Oregon and for the country. We look forward to continuing this discussion. And would the Senator yield?
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Mr. WYDEN. Would the Senator be willing to continue this discussion in the days ahead? Because I think this has been extraordinary. It has begun to lay out the implications of what this is really all about in terms of authoritarianism. It is important for our State. It is an important debate for the country.
Would the Senator be willing to carry out further kind of discussions? And it might not necessarily be here on the floor of the Senate, but elsewhere as well?
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Mr. WYDEN. My colleague has richly earned a few hours of sleep tonight, but I am going to make sure that here in the Senate and across the country, people understand that this is the beginning of further discussion, not the end.
I want to thank my colleague for taking this time today to play out what this is really all about in terms of this issue.
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