“A country with a government” (“A government with a country”)
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) said in his inaugural address as president on January 20, 1981:
“We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.”
In March 2015, National Security Agency whistleblower William Binney quoted Reagan’s words and told Infowars.com:
“I basically see us moving to a controlled society. A totalitarian state where the government wants to be in charge. When Reagan said, ‘We’re a country with a government,’ I think we’re now a government with a country.”
Binney and others had used the line before. “Afraid we’re no longer country with a government. We’re now a government with a country” was cited on Twitter on February 21, 2009. “We used to be a country with a government; we are moving toward being a government with a country. NSS whistleblower Bill Binney at #DEFCON” was cited on Twitter on July 28, 2012.
The American Presidency Project
Ronald Reagan
Inaugural Address
January 20, 1981
(...)
So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.
Twitter
Andy Andrews
@AndyAndrews
Trying to avoid the news. Tough to do so. Afraid we’re no longer country with a government. We’re now a government with a country. Sheesh.
10:52 AM - 21 Feb 2009
Twitter
Kevin Bankston
@KevinBankston
We used to be a country with a government; we are moving toward being a government with a country. NSS whistleblower Bill Binney at #DEFCON
5:37 PM - 28 Jul 2012
Twitter
Burnie Thompson Show
@burniethompson
#Obama AND #Boehner need to be reminded:
We are country with a government; not a government with a country!
@tcot @Jim_Jordan
5:59 PM - 15 Jan 2015
Infowars.com
NSA WHISTLEBLOWER: ‘WE’RE NO LONGER A COUNTRY WITH A GOVERNMENT, WE’RE A GOVERNMENT WITH A COUNTRY’
Former high-level intelligence official warns of “totalitarian” slide into a “controlled society”
by MIKAEL THALEN | INFOWARS.COM | MARCH 19, 2015
Former National Security Agency technical director turned whistleblower William Binney told radio-talk show host Alex Jones Wednesday that the United States no longer represented a country with a constitutional government.
Binney, a 36-year agency veteran who blew the whistle on domestic surveillance in 2001, warned that the United States was sliding dangerously close to “totalitarianism” under the NSA’s plan for a “controlled society.”
“I basically see us moving to a controlled society. A totalitarian state where the government wants to be in charge,” Binney stated. “When Reagan said, ‘We’re a country with a government,’ I think we’re now a government with a country.”