“All power is originally in the people; and should be exercised by them in person, if that could be done with convenience, or even with little difficulty. …But in large states, the people cannot assemble together. As they cannot, therefore, act by themselves, they must act by their representatives.” (James Wilson)
Our Founders' Warning: “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” (Thomas Jefferson)