Protocol before politics (Michigan)

"Protocol before politics" was a phrase spoken by Thomas Kieger, former Speaker of the House of the Parliament of the Great Lakes, in 1964 during the Great Lakes constitutional crisis. The meaning of the phrase is that royal protocol and matters of state shall take precedence over political alliances within the Parliament. When Kieger said the phrase, he was specifically referring to the fact that Louis I was supportive of the National Party, which was a breach of protocol, and that Parliament must uphold such protocol even at the expense of political capital; Keiger himself was a member of the National Party, hence the quote's fame an importance in Michigan politics.

In the modern era, the phrase has come to mean higher ideals should outweigh what can be seen as petty differences. That principles ought to be upheld by all, especially by those who stand to lose by doing so.