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Gail Collins

Gail Collins Quotes

Journalist

Gail Collins is an American journalist and author, born on November 25, 1945. She is renowned for her column at The New York Times, where she writes on politics and culture. Collins has also penned several books on American history and politics, making significant contributions to the field of journalism.

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All Ifs People Thinking Want Government States Care Knows Party Texas

Famous Gail Collins Quotes

“Elections have to have at least a little meaning. Obama ran on income tax hikes for the wealthy. People knew they were voting for that. They want that. And it's good policy.”

People Want Littles Policy Taxes Election Income Ran Voting Wealthy Income Tax

Author:Gail Collins

“For a border state, I would argue that Texas is less lunatic on the subject of immigration issues than other places around it, like Arizona. They're much more comfortable with their long-term identity as a place with a very large Hispanic population.”

Long States Term Issues Subjects Identity Comfortable Population Arguing Immigration Borders Long Term Texas Lunatic Arizona Hispanic

Author:Gail Collins

“For the undocumented immigrants, the big priority is just to get out from the shadows, be able to get a driver's license, buy an airplane ticket and stop worrying about sudden deportation. But for the country as a whole, it's crucial that everybody have a citizen's stake in the nation's welfare.”

Country Whole Bigs Able Nations Worry Citizens Shadow Priorities Welfare Immigrants Drivers Crucial Stakes Airplane Tickets License Stop Worrying Deportation Undocumented Immigrants

Author:Gail Collins

“For years I've been hearing 20-somethings say they don't expect Social Security to be around when they hit 65. Eventually, I came to realize that they really mean that they just don't expect to be 65. Or 40. Neither did I, when I was 22.”

Years Mean Social Realizing Security Hearing Social Security Really Mean

Author:Gail Collins

“Hillary Clinton almost got to be president. The reasons why she didn't become president had to do with bad judgments about how to handle the early caucus states, which is not a gender-specific trait.”

States Reason President Judgment Clinton Gender Handle Reason Why Traits Caucus

Author:Gail Collins

“I admired the way McCain worked on campaign finance reform. I admired the way Nancy Pelosi stiffened the Democrats' spine during the health care debate. I admire the way Barack Obama has raised a dog in the White House without ever putting it on the roof of the car for a vacation drive.”

Way Care House White Dog Car Democrat Raised Campaigns Debate Admire Finance Reform Barack Health Care White House Vacation Roof Spine Mccain Nancy Campaign Finance Campaign Finance Reform

Author:Gail Collins

“I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations with politicians who've done something morally reprehensible but not indictable, yet still think they should be able to stay in office. The office isn't a right. It's a kind of loan.”

Thinking Should Kind Stills I Can Done Able Politician Conversation Office Loan

Author:Gail Collins

“I did some research once on the way people in the past imagined the year 2000. They tended to picture the things they already had getting more sophisticated - flying cars, self-cleaning windows. And the folks in the early 1900s had a wildly optimistic estimate of the future of pneumatic tubes.”

People Way Years Self Past Car Research Window Folks Flying Optimistic Sophisticated Cleaning Tubes People From The Past Flying Cars

Author:Gail Collins

“I don't think the folks in the low-tax states really want to go into a fairness discussion. Residents of Connecticut and New York would love to remind them how much they pay in federal taxes to support programs for Mississippi and South Dakota.”

Thinking Want States Pay Support New York Taxes Lows Program South Folks Discussion Fairness Mississippi Residents Dakota Connecticut South Dakota Federal Taxes

Author:Gail Collins

“I grew up in one of the most socially conservative neighborhoods in Ohio, and my parents were traditional Catholics. But in her old age, my mother got her home health care from a guy who was gay, who was wonderful to her. Before she died, she rode a float in the Cincinnati Gay Pride Parade.”

Home Care Age Mother Guy Parent Wonderful Pride Grew Gay Grew Up Died Catholic Conservative Traditional Old Age Health Care Neighborhood Floats Parades Ohio Gay Pride

Author:Gail Collins

“I just really like Houston despite its craziness. There is a sense of energy and a kind of excitement, 'We're going places and God knows what'll happen next.' It's very interesting. It's very exciting.”

Knows Kind Happens Next Energy Interesting Exciting Despite Excitement Very Interesting God Knows Craziness Houston

Author:Gail Collins

“I kind of think that if you show conspiracy theorists a photo of the dead Bin Laden they will come up with an explanation for why it's really a Photoshoped picture of Bin Laden asleep. Or his dead cousin Fred. Donald Trump apparently believes that Bin Laden is dead, so that ought to be enough for the Middle East.”

Ifs Thinking Believe Kind Enough Shows Middle Ought Trump Come Up East Explanation Conspiracy Middle East Cousin Bin Laden Theorists

Author:Gail Collins

“I used to have a sort of soft spot for Huckabee. He seemed to have a genuinely saintly streak, which caused him to defend illegal immigrants and give pardons to criminals who were perhaps a little less rehabilitated than he had imagined.”

Giving Littles Used Criminals Spots Immigrants Illegal Pardon Streaks Illegal Immigrants

Author:Gail Collins

“I used to like John McCain, too, but I must admit that was because he was bucking his party to do things I agreed with. I would not have had that reaction if, say, Bernie Sanders decided to rebel out of principle and support privatizing Social Security.”

Ifs Used Social Party Principles Support Security Decided Reactions Rebel Social Security Mccain

Author:Gail Collins

“I'm being driven crazy by people who are obsessed with limiting the scope of government, but feel perfectly free to demand that government get involved in women's most personal choices.”

People Feels Government Choices Crazy Involved Demand Driven Obsessed Scope Get Involved Personal Choice

Author:Gail Collins

“If you live in a place that you perceive to be a crowded place, you appreciate government; you see it as this thing that protects you against crime, that keeps order, that makes sure that nobody puts a massage parlor next to your house, that keeps other people's dogs from pooping on the sidewalk.”

People Ifs Government Order Next House Dog Crime Protect Appreciate Perceive Crowded Massage Sidewalk Protect You Parlor Crowded Places

Author:Gail Collins

“It's possible that you have been told a time or 10 that you don't appreciate how tough your elders had it. It's true that, if you had been coming of age back in, say, 1960, you would probably be feeling more restricted, if only because you were doomed to spend your days in a skirt, nylon stockings and girdle.”

Ifs Has Beens Feelings Age Tough Appreciate Coming Of Age Doomed Elders 1960s Skirts Stockings Girdles Nylon

Author:Gail Collins

“My only thought about Margaret Thatcher is the same one I had about Ronald Reagan. I hated a lot of what they did, but once in a while a country just needs a change.”

Needs Country Hated Need A Change

Author:Gail Collins

“Natural Texas politicians make terrible, terrible presidential candidates. Phil Gramm, I remember the 'Phil Gramm for President' campaign. I thought that was the worst thing in the history of the world, but Rick Perry was possibly worse.”

World Remember President Natural Worst Politician Terrible Campaigns Presidential Candidates Texas Worst Things World History Presidential Candidate

Author:Gail Collins

“Now my poor hometown is being castigated as the center of an IRS scandal. Humble workers at the Cincinnati office targeted Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations for special scrutiny when those groups applied for tax-exempt status. There's no conceivable excuse for that. It was deeply, deeply wrong.”

Poor Party Groups Special Taxes Office Organization Workers Conservative Excuse Humble Tea Scandal Tea Party Scrutiny Hometown Irs

Author:Gail Collins

“Once you're done being president, you tend to want to defend your record more than plumb your inner feelings. I find it hard to imagine Obama going home at night and writing sensitive, introspective journal entries about his meeting with John Boehner.”

Want Writing Hard Done Feelings Home Night President Records Imagine Meetings Sensitive Journal Entry Introspective Going Home Inner Feelings

Author:Gail Collins

“One line I'd draw would be on raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare. It sounds fair, since people are living longer. But it isn't. Lower income workers are the ones who find it hardest to keep working after 65. And they'll get penalized with lower benefits.”

People Would Be Age Social Sound Lines Security Benefits Draws Fairs Workers Income Hardest Social Security Medicare One Line Eligibility

Author:Gail Collins

“One very clear memory I have of college is that I never learned anything in the big lectures. I have a feeling I'd have done even worse if they'd been on a laptop screen.”

Ifs Done Feelings Bigs Memories Clear College Screens Lectures Laptops

Author:Gail Collins

“Personally, I'd be really glad to have a national conversation about whether to outlaw most forms of birth control. For once, the kids and their grandparents would find themselves on the same side.”

Kids Form Sides Birth Conversation Glad Grandparent Birth Control Outlaw

Author:Gail Collins

“Sarah Palin is an heir to the women's movement. She has not been constrained by gender. At no point in her life has she thought, 'I can't do that because I'm a woman.'”

I Can Movement Gender No Point Heirs Palin

Author:Gail Collins

“Sarah Palin is treated like a bimbo sometimes, but she has never given the public the respect they deserve. She acts silly and doesn't know stuff. She didn't even finish her term.”

Knows Sometimes Given Stuff Term Deserve Silly Treated Palin

Author:Gail Collins

“Take Hispanic voters. They favor Democrats because they like the party's programs, from health care reform to government spending on education. It's not because the Republicans don't have a big enough Office of Hispanic Outreach.”

Enough Bigs Government Care Party Republican Office Program Democrat Spending Favors Reform Health Care Voters Hispanic Government Spending Health Care Reform Outreach

Author:Gail Collins

“Texas has no income tax, which is a big draw for corporate executives who do business there. But it's hardly tax-free. The property taxes are high for a Southern state. The sales taxes are high. One study found that the bottom 20 percent of the Texas population pays 12 percent of its income in state and local taxes.”

States Bigs Found Pay Study Taxes Draws Percent Property Bottom Population Income Locals Corporate Executives Texas Southern Income Tax Sales Tax Property Taxes

Author:Gail Collins

“The high point was that the people are really nice - despite the crazy politics - and I loved being there. The hardest part was knowing some of the things I was probably going to write about Texas would make those nice people very unhappy.”

People Writing Knowing Nice Crazy Unhappy Hardest Despite Texas Being There Really Nice Nice People High Points

Author:Gail Collins

“The history of American women is about the fight for freedom, but it's less a war against oppressive men than a struggle to straighten out the perpetually mixed message about women's role that was accepted by almost everybody of both genders.”

Men War Fighting Roles Struggle Messages Gender Accepted American Woman Fighting For Freedom Women's Roles

Author:Gail Collins

“The IRS targeting certain groups for harassment because of their politics would be unfair. If we found out the NSA was keeping special tabs on everyone who worshiped at a mosque or took a Bible trip through the Middle East, you'd have an uprising.”

Ifs Would Be Certain Found Groups Middle Special East Middle East Unfair Nsa Harassment Uprising Mosques Irs

Author:Gail Collins

“The middle of 'America's Women' is about the Civil War, and how women, black and white, confronted slavery and abolition. As in every other period of crisis, the rules of sexual decorum were suspended due to emergency.”

War America Black White Middle Periods Crisis Slavery Dues Civil War Black And White Emergencies Abolition Suspended Decorum

Book:America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

Source: America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines

“The whole student loan thing drives me completely nuts. If it wasn't possible for 18-year-olds to sign themselves up for tens of thousands of dollars in debt in order to pay their college bills, the state governments wouldn't have found it so politically easy to cut taxpayer support for public colleges and universities.”

“There are competing studies on how much crime drops or doesn't drop when there are strict rules on gun possession and sale. I don't think there's any question that New York City's very tough laws have reduced violence.”

Thinking Law Cities Study Violence Crime New York Gun Tough Possession New York City Strict Competing Strict Rules

Author:Gail Collins

“There have been tons of politicians who were slow to accept equal rights when it meant changes in the established social order. Many eventually came around, admitted they were wrong, and were forgiven. But the ones who actively choose hate-mongering don't ever get a pass.”

Has Beens Hate Order Social Accepting Rights Politician Equal Forgiven Equal Rights Social Order

Author:Gail Collins

“There's always been that theory that if a candidate can't run a decent campaign, he probably can't run a decent presidency. That might be true, although sadly I must admit that running a brilliant campaign does not translate into running a brilliant White House.”

Ifs Doe Might Running House White Theory Brilliant Campaigns Being True Candidates Decent White House Translate Presidency

Author:Gail Collins

“There's more student debt than credit card debt! Everywhere I go, I run into young people trying to build careers while they keep shelling out money on their education loans. If the economy is looking for a new generation of home-buyers, I can't imagine they'll get it from these folks.”

People Ifs Trying I Can Home Running Young Careers Economy Imagine Generations Students Folks Credit Debt Cards Loan Credit Card New Generation Buyers Credit Card Debt

Author:Gail Collins

“Until Eleanor Roosevelt, there was only one or two First Ladies in all of American history who made an impact, who people could even have recognized or identified. And it's really only been since Jackie Kennedy that there's been this idea that the family life of the president is such a central thing.”

People Firsts Made Two Ideas President Impact American History Family Life First Lady Jackie Eleanor

Author:Gail Collins

“What naturally you want to do if you were a prominent person in the public light and you are disgraced, you want to make a comeback, and normally that begins with somebody saying, “I want to do something to help people. I want to do something to help the lepers in the Third World. I want to do something to help abandoned wives in India.””

People Ifs World Want Persons Helping Light Wife Thirds India Abandoned Comeback Third World Prominent Leper

Author:Gail Collins

“When the simple word processors came in, writing became crisper, less dense - just because of the way we could instantly edit on the screen. Now the ability to mash up words and pictures and links and songs and tweets is what matters. I can't imagine what writing will be like in 2154.”

Way Writing I Can Matter Song Simple Ability Imagine Screens Links What Matters Tweet Edits Dense Simple Words Processors Mash Up

Author:Gail Collins

“When the women's movement began, it was a middle-class phenomenon. Certainly, black women had other stuff to think about in the '60s besides a women's movement. Working-class women were slow to get into it.”

Thinking Stuff Black Class Middle Movement Middle Class Phenomenon Working Class Black Women

Author:Gail Collins

“When the women's movement started in the 1960s, there was a vision of a future where women didn't wear makeup or worry about how their hair looked, and everybody wore sensible, comfortable clothes. It ran into an absolute brick wall.”

Vision Worry Movement Hair Wall Comfortable Clothes Absolutes Ran Makeup Sensible Bricks 1960s Brick Wall

Author:Gail Collins

“Women in America will have to find an answer for the pressures of work and family, but if you really care about women's issues you have to think about women in the world, especially Africa, Asia and the Middle East.”

Ifs Thinking World Care America Answers Issues Middle Pressure East Middle East Asia

Author:Gail Collins

“You know, I have a lot of books on my iPad, but when I try to read them, I find myself wandering off to play games. Those are books I'm interested in. I can't imagine what would have happened to me in college if my biology class had been on the same computer as "Words With Friends" and "Doom."”

Ifs Knows Trying I Can Book Play Games Class Imagine Happened College Computer Wander Biology Doom Ipads Words With Friends

Author:Gail Collins

“You know, I really miss sex scandals. They're generally colorful. They almost never mean anything over the long run. And while they're going on, the people who actually keep the government running are let alone to go about their business. Good old sex scandals.”

People Knows Mean Long Government Running Sex Missing Long Runs Scandal Colorful

Author:Gail Collins

“You reduce illegal immigration by making it harder to get jobs here, or easier to get jobs south of the border. This idea that we can't pass an immigration law until we hit some imaginary security target is just a way to derail reform.”

Way Ideas Jobs Law Security Easier Harder South Immigration Reform Borders Illegal Target Imaginary Illegal Immigration Immigration Laws

Author:Gail Collins

“Nobody gets to grow old in the America they grew up in.”

America Grows Grew Grew Up

Author:Gail Collins

About the Author

Born: November 25, 1945
Known for: Journalist
Quotes: 97

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Books & Sources

America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and HeroinesRelated source material

When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the PresentRelated source material

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