June 28, 2009 6:03PM 

# The Importance of Just Saying No 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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[George Will](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/26/AR2009062603457.html?hpid=opinionsbox1):

> Conservatives are accused of being a party of “no.” Fine. That is an indispensable word in politics because most new ideas are false and mischievous. Furthermore, the First Amendment’s lovely first five words (“Congress shall make no law”) set the negative tone of the Bill of Rights, which is a list of government behaviors, from establishing religion to conducting unreasonable searches, to which the Constitution says: No.

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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