Politics & Power Quote by Caleb Cushing

He opens with a feint of humility and then drives a wedge: “Sir, I am a republican” is less a biography than a claim of jurisdiction. Cushing isn’t just stating a preference; he’s announcing the standard by which he will judge the chamber, and implicitly, the right to shame it.

The sentence is engineered as a trap for hypocrites. He invokes “that democracy which is ever on the lips of its members” to suggest a legislature fluent in slogans but shaky on practice. The pivot to “which, I hope, is in their hearts” offers a brief off-ramp, a face-saving invitation for colleagues to align themselves with their own rhetoric. But Cushing keeps the pressure on by moving from their hearts to his: “as I know and feel it is in mine.” The confidence is pointed; it implies he doesn’t merely believe in democracy, he experiences it as an inner moral fact. That makes disagreement sound less like policy dispute and more like character deficit.

The final clause, “and mean it shall be in my conduct,” is the real power play. It converts ideology into a personal performance standard and dares the House to measure him against it. In an era when “democracy” was expanding as a political brand while institutions still protected elite prerogatives, Cushing’s intent is procedural as much as philosophical: he’s arguing that democratic language must cash out in democratic behavior inside the chamber - rules, representation, respect for dissent.

Subtext: if you keep “democracy” on your lips but out of your conduct, you’re not mistaken; you’re fraudulent.