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Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura Quotes

Politician

Jesse Ventura (born July 15, 1951) is an American politician, professional wrestler, actor, and author. He served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, elected as a member of the Reform Party, making him one of the few third-party candidates to win a gubernatorial election in U.S. history. Ventura gained fame as a professional wrestler under the ring name 'Jesse Ventura' in the AWA and WWF, winning multiple championships. After retiring from wrestling, he pursued acting, appearing in films like 'Predator' and 'The Running Man.' His political career began as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, before his successful gubernatorial run. Known for his blunt style and populist views, he advocated for tax cuts, government transparency, and civil liberties. Ventura is also a bestselling author and media commentator. His life exemplifies a unique crossover from sports entertainment to political leadership.

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All Ifs Government People Thinking Needs Want War Believe Country States Citizens Should Knows Republican Way Democrat Governors United I Believe Party

Famous Jesse Ventura Quotes

“I believe to go along to get along is unpatriotic. I believe that agreeing with your government on everything they do is unpatriotic. I believe a patriot stands up and holds your government's feet to the fire. Because if you do that, you will get good government.”

Ifs Believe Government I Believe Fire Feet Patriot Unpatriotic

Author:Jesse Ventura

“A hero must be honorable, must have honor. And you can't have honor if you're a liar. There is no honor in lying.”

Ifs Lying Hero Honor Liars Honorable You Re A Liar

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If Jesus came back today, I think he'd throw up.”

Ifs Thinking Today Jesus

Book:Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

“Prostitution is criminal, and bad things happen because it's run illegally by dirt-bags who are criminals. If it's legal, then the girls could have health checks, unions, benefits, anything any other worker gets, and it would be far better.”

Ifs Happens Would Be Running Law Girl Benefits Unions Workers Criminals Things Happen Checks Bags Illegal Bad Things Dirt Prostitution Bad Things Happen

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you buy the flag it's yours to burn.”

Book:Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

“I think they should let gays in the military because we are the United States of America. And if a gay person wants to serve his or her country, why should they not be allowed to?”

Ifs Thinking Want Should Persons Country States America United United States Military Gay United States Of America

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you don't vote, then you may be leaving the decisions up to someone dumber than you.”

Ifs May Decision Vote Leaving

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I wish they would pass a law where all Democrats and Republicans had to wear NASCAR racing suits, because if you look at the NASCAR drivers, it tells who their sponsors are. And if they do that, we could then become informed voters, because we would know who owns them.”

Ifs Knows Looks Law Wish Republican Democrat Suits Drivers Voters Racing Sponsors Nascar Nascar Racing

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you stand for peace in the USA, you're lucky to be alive.”

Ifs Alive Lucky Usa Lucky To Be Alive

Author:Jesse Ventura

“One out of four people internationally believe if their country goes to war, The United States would be the opponent. As a veteran, I hang my head in shame over that.”

People Ifs Believe War Country States Would Be United United States Four Shame Opponents Veteran

Author:Jesse Ventura

“When I was governor, if I told a joke in front of the press - I learned. I would go, "That was a joke, joke, joke," and I'd say it three times.”

Ifs Three Fronts Jokes Presses Governors Three Times

Author:Jesse Ventura

“How can you send somebody else's kid to war if you won't send your own?”

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you ride in a group, then you're okay. Then the cars will respect you. But if you're riding alone, you get no respect out there from cars at all.”

Ifs Groups Car Okay Riding No Respect

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If we would end the war on drugs, you would see the end of the militarization of our police forces and you would see an end to a lot of the shooting violence that's going on when people are being pulled over for traffic stops and then suddenly executed right in the street.”

People Ifs War Ends Force Violence Streets Drug Police Shooting Traffic War On Drugs Police Force

Author:Jesse Ventura

“The death penalty only should be - if you agree with it, which I don't, only allowed for murder. You have to murder someone to get the death penalty.”

Ifs Should Murder Agree Penalties Death Penalty

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you're stealing a television, that should not be the death penalty.”

Ifs Should Television Stealing Penalties Death Penalty

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you're going to accept freedom, there's the freedom to be stupid.”

Ifs Accepting Stupid

Author:Jesse Ventura

“In the United States, if you buy a property and you're a good citizen, and you improve that property, what do they do to you? They tax you more. So they penalize you for good behavior.”

Ifs States United United States Citizens Taxes Behavior Property Good Citizen Good Behavior

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you behave like a good citizen, and you upgrade and improve your property, your reward will be the government will take more money from you. So using that analogy, you should let your house become the shithole on the block and they'll reduce your taxes and you'll pay less. Be a bad citizen with your neighbors, right? You'll save money then.”

Ifs Should Government House Pay Citizens Taxes Property Rewards Neighbor Block Behave More Money Saving Money Analogies Good Citizen

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you're a Mexican citizen whether you live in a shanty shack or the big palace on the beach, when you turn 65, your property taxes are cut in half.”

Ifs Bigs Turns Half Cutting Citizens Taxes Property Beach Mexican Palaces Shack Property Taxes

Author:Jesse Ventura

“Marijuana is to rock and roll what beer is to baseball, so imagine if they took away beer at the ballgame.”

Ifs Imagine Rocks Baseball Beer Marijuana Rock And Roll Ballgame

Author:Jesse Ventura

“A bag of quality marijuana in Minnesota will cost you 400 bucks, in Colorado it'll cost you 100 and a quarter. Medical Marijuana, a pill that you've got to pay for - which, it's allowed in Minnesota, but it's so restricted - costs $600 a month. If you live in Colorado you can get the same medical marijuana for $30 a month. See why it needs to be legalized across the board?”

Ifs Needs Pay Quality Months Cost Medical Boards Bags Quarters Marijuana Pills Bucks Colorado Minnesota Medical Marijuana

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If the price of the drug people want to use is through the roof, well then they're going to have to commit crimes to get the money to get the drug. You don't see any crimes committed over a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of beer, do you?”

People Ifs Want Wells Use Crime Drug Committed Commit Beer Bottles Cigarette Roof Packs

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I speak my mind. If it offends some people, well, there's not much I can do about that. But I'm going to be honest. I'm going to continue to speak my mind, and that's who I am.”

People Ifs Mind Wells I Can Speak Can Do Honest Who I Am Being Honest

Book:Sh*t Politicians Say: The Funniest, Dumbest, Most Outrageous Things Ever Uttered By Our

Source: Sh*t Politicians Say: The Funniest, Dumbest, Most Outrageous Things Ever Uttered By Our

“Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.”

Ifs Winning Loses Wrestling Wwe Cheat Inspirational Sports Short Sports Short Motivational Sports Inspirational Athlete Inspiring Athlete

Book:Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!: From the Minnesota Governor's Mansion to the Baja Outback : Reflections and Revisionings

“If I could be reincarnated as a fabric, I would come back as a 38 double-D bra.”

Ifs If I Could Fabric Double Standard Bras

Author:Jesse Ventura

“We call our country home of the brave and land of the free, but it's not. We give a false portrayal of freedom. We're not free - if we were, we'd allow people their freedom.”

People Ifs Giving Country Home Land Brave Our Country Conspiracy Portrayal Land Of The Free

Book:Sh*t Politicians Say: The Funniest, Dumbest, Most Outrageous Things Ever Uttered By Our

Source: Sh*t Politicians Say: The Funniest, Dumbest, Most Outrageous Things Ever Uttered By Our

“If you want to stop illegal immigration, you have to make it so that - so that the people that hire the illegal immigrants will not be in a position to hire them.”

People Ifs Want Position Immigration Immigrants Illegal Illegal Immigrants Illegal Immigration Undocumented Immigrants Undocumented Workers

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I asked Dalai Lama the most important question that I think you could ask - if he had ever seen Caddyshack.”

Ifs Thinking Important Asks Lama Important Questions Dalai

Author:Jesse Ventura

“A war is justified if you're willing to send your son. If you're not willing to send your son, how do you send someone else's?”

Ifs War Willing Son Justified Your Son

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I don't oppose hunting in any way, shape or form. If that's what you enjoy doing, you are free to do it.”

Ifs Way Form Enjoy Shapes Hunting Doing You

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I'm tolerant of all religions... I don't care if someone wants to go out there and worship the bark on a tree.”

Ifs Want Care Tree Worship Don't Care I Don't Care Bark

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If I can get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states and be allowed into the debates, I'd not only run, I'd win.”

Ifs I Can States Running Winning Debate Presidential Ballots

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If I wanna be president, I probably can.”

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If the government mandates anything with a price tag on it, then it ought to fund the project.”

Ifs Government Ought Projects Fund Mandates Tag Price Tag

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you were to come to Minnesota, I could have you locked up like that. That's power.”

Ifs Power Locked Locked Up Minnesota

Author:Jesse Ventura

“You have to accept the rule of law, even when it's inconvenient, if you're going to be a country that bides by the rule of law.”

Ifs Country Law Accepting Rule Of Law Inconvenient

Author:Jesse Ventura

“You're lucky if I watch 10 minutes of wrestling a month. Most of the time, I channel surf, and I lose interest after a few minutes.”

Ifs Interest Loses Watches Minutes Months Lucky Wrestling Surf

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I believe in the America people's ability to govern themselves. If government would just get out of the way and allow them to lead their lives as they choose, they will succeed.”

People Ifs Way Believe Government America I Believe Ability Succeed I Believe In

Book:I Ain't Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up

Source: I Ain't Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up

“Students often approached me about state-paid tuition while I was out campaigning. After I explained to them that if the state pays their tuition now, they will pay higher taxes to pay other people's tuition for the rest of their lives, most of them ended up agreeing with me.”

People Ifs States Pay Students Higher Taxes Paid Taxi Tuition Campaigning

Book:I Ain't Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up

Source: I Ain't Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up

“Barack Obama's large contributor was Goldman Sachs - same thing on the Republican side. If you go to both their conventions, you see the same lobbyists paying off both sides so they win either way.”

Ifs Way Winning Sides Republican Barack Conventions Both Sides Lobbyists Contributors Goldman Sachs

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I think a person who is disabled should be disabled by no act of their own. If you become disabled because of alcoholism, drugs, or things of that nature, I do not think those conditions qualify someone to be called disabled. I think those conditions result from personal decisions.”

Ifs Thinking Should Persons Decision Results Conditions Drug Alcoholism Disabled Personal Decisions

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If I were an innocent individual, flown to a foreign country and held for several years and tortured, I'd become a terrorist, too. I'd go to war against the U.S.”

Ifs Years War Country Individual Terrorist Innocent Foreign Countries

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If waterboarding's OK, why don't we let our police do it to suspects so we can learn what they know? We only seem to waterboard Muslims... Have we waterboarded anyone else?”

Ifs Knows Seems Police Suspects

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you start studying history closer, you'll find that most all wars are based on false flag operations to get people - to convince the people that they're under attack in some way so that they will support the wars.”

People Ifs Way War Support Study Operations Convince Flags Studying History

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you work for the federal government, the average salary is $7,000 higher than the private sector. Something's wrong with that, when you're making more money working for the government than you can working in the private sector.”

Ifs Government Higher Average More Money Federal Government Salary Private Sector

Author:Jesse Ventura

“My father used to always say to me that, you know, if a guy goes out to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family, they'll give him 10 years, but a guy can do white-collar crime and steal the money of thousands and he'll get probation and a slap on the wrist.”

Ifs Knows Giving Years Used Guy Father Can Do White Crime Stealing Bread Slap Wrists Collars White Collar Probation White Collar Crime

Author:Jesse Ventura

“Remember something, if you will, about voting: Voting is not a horse race, you're not going there thinking "Gee, I gotta pick the winner so I can brag to my friends 'Oh, I picked so-and-so and he or she won'". Voting is voting your heart and voting your conscience and when you've done that, don't ever, EVER let a Democrat or Republican tell you that you've wasted your vote because the fact is, if you DON'T vote your heart and conscience then you HAVE wasted your vote.”

Ifs Thinking Heart I Can Done Facts Remember Race Republican Picks Conscience My Friends Vote Horse Democrat Winner Voting Brag Remember Something

Author:Jesse Ventura

“I have an idea about voting, how about on every ballot we include "None of the above". People may laugh at that, but what that is, it is a vote of no confidence in your government and I'm willing to bet that in some elections, 'None of the Above' would win. Imagine if you won the election but lost to 'None of the Above'. Wouldn't that make you re-think your positions?”

People Ifs Thinking May Ideas Government Winning Lost Laughing Imagine Position Willing Vote Election Voting Ballots No Confidence

Author:Jesse Ventura

“If you tell the truth, you don't need a long memory.”