Track 17: Hamilton's accusation. Burr's defense: "I have the principle of representing the people, not the parties."
"Burr has no principles."
Is that so?
Let’s break it down.
You say I have no principles because I don't bleed?
Because I don't shout every time that I read?
You mistake volume for conviction, my friend.
You mistake rigidness for the means to an end.
I have a principle. It’s called "Representation."
It’s the bedrock, the foundation of the nation.
I listen to the people. I don't tell them what to think.
I don't push them to the edge of the brink.
You want a monarch? You want a king?
I want a chorus where everyone can sing.
You call it wavering. I call it steering.
You call it silence. I call it hearing.
I’m not a dogmatist tied to a stake.
I’m a pragmatist doing whatever it takes.
No principles?
Maybe I just have better ones than you.
You’re Federalists. They’re Republicans.
I’m an American.
I don't fit in your boxes, I don't fit in your clan.
I vote on the issue, I vote on the law.
I don't vote for the party with the loudest jaw.
You say I’m dangerous? Why? Cause I’m free?
Cause I don't bow down to your ideology?
The world is complex. The world isn't binary.
My political views are evolutionary!
If standing for nothing is what you accuse…
Then what do you call losing every time you choose?
You have principles. And you have enemies.
I have options. And I have remedies.
You call it wavering. I call it steering.
You call it silence. I call it hearing.
No principles?
Watch me survive while you burn.
Adapt or die, Alexander.
Adapt or die.