The United States has taken a step backward in its interpretation of government with the Senate's enactment of the "nuclear option," giving Democrats a voting advantage, says Daniel Hannan, a British journalist and member of the EU Parliament.
"John Adams' phrase [is] a government of laws, not of men, right? The rules are above the people who play by the rules," Hannan told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
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"That may sound obvious, but it's pretty unique, and it's why our country's remained free and how we understand freedom under the law to work."
Hannan, author of the new book "
Inventing Freedom: How the English-Speaking Peoples Made the Modern World," said that in many societies, politicians assume power and rig the rules to suit themselves.
"That happens in most of Africa, in most of Asia, in most of South America, and even in most of Europe," he said.
"We are really lucky, we English-speaking peoples, to inhabit countries where there is freedom under the law, where individual liberty is guaranteed, and where the guy in charge doesn't get to make things up as he goes along.
"But that is a precious and unique heritage, and it is up to all of us to preserve it."
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