{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/article/breitbart-op-ed-restore-the-bill-of-rights", "Breitbart Op-Ed: Restore the Bill of Rights", "2016-12-15", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Breitbart Op-Ed: Restore the Bill of Rights \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\nThursday, December 15, 2016\n\t\nTwo hundred and twenty-five years ago today, a young nation made ten additions to its already revolutionary Constitution.\u00a0\r\nThese amendments \u2013 this \u201cBill of Rights\u201d \u2013 said we could speak our minds, worship freely, defend ourselves, be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures, and expect to be treated fairly if accused of a crime.\r\nIn contrast to almost all of the legislation Congress passes today, the Bill of Rights is full of language such as \u201cCongress shall make no law\u201d and \u201cThe right of the people\u2026 shall not be violated,\u201d along with a guarantee that non-delegated powers or those not specifically denied the states \u201care reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.\u201d\u00a0\r\nWith this document, the Founders drew a line in the sand a few inches from the government\u2019s feet.\u00a0\r\nNot all of these 225 years have been kind to the Bill of Rights, though.\u00a0 It\u2019s been challenged, debated, and far too often just ignored.\r\nDon\u2019t be fooled into thinking this would have surprised the Founders.\r\nWe have the Bill of Rights precisely because the Founding Fathers knew government can\u2019t resist stretching its limits.\u00a0 Much like Benjamin Franklin\u2019s reported statement that we had a Republic if we could \u201ckeep it,\u201d the Bill of Rights relies on the people holding government accountable.\u00a0\r\nWhen some in government say \u201cof course we can,\u201d you and I are supposed to use the Bill of Rights to say, \u201cNo, you can\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0\r\nSome believe government has grown too large to hold down with these chains, that it\u2019s too late to rein it back in.\u00a0 If the Bill of Rights were mere words on paper, perhaps we could afford to indulge that feeling.\u00a0\r\nBut they are not mere words. \u00a0They are principles fundamental to who we are as a people and what we represent as a nation. \u00a0If we stop caring enough to preserve them, we will lose more than a few liberties.\r\nWe will become something else entirely.\u00a0\r\nThat\u2019s one reason we must defend the entire Bill of Rights.\u00a0 If you expect to be able to speak freely, then surveillance that shreds the Fourth Amendment stops being just the other guy\u2019s problem.\u00a0\r\nIf you let the government decide the Second Amendment doesn\u2019t mean what it says, then why should it hold to a strict definition of due process or freedom of the press?\u00a0\r\nWe don\u2019t have the luxury of playing favorites.\u00a0 We have the responsibility of getting it right.\r\nIn a time where so many are divided, this provides us with a clear path forward.\u00a0 We can unite on a Constitution that binds us together by the same standard, and we can demand all politicians stay within those rules to best benefit us all.\u00a0\r\nIf that document needs to be changed, as the Founders expected it would, let\u2019s follow their example by properly amending it, as they did with the ten amendments we celebrate today.\u00a0\r\nThere\u2019s no better time than the present to drop the status quo and adopt this \u201cnew\u201d approach.\u00a0\r\nI am excited for the upcoming opportunities we will have to institute long-overdue reforms, roll back an overzealous and misguided bureaucracy, and return to a government that works for the people instead of the special interests.\u00a0\r\nOn this 225th anniversary, let us rededicate ourselves to the principles and boundaries found in the Bill of Rights, and let us recommit to passing them on honored and intact.\r\nhttp://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/15/rand-paul-restore-the-bill-of-rights/", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/article/breitbart-op-ed-restore-the-bill-of-rights"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.783625990152359, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}