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Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels Quotes

Former Governor of Indiana

Mitch Daniels is a seasoned American politician who served as the Governor of Indiana. During his tenure, he promoted economic and educational reforms in the state, and is widely recognized for his contributions to education.

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All Government Believe Ifs Citizens Nations People States Debt Enterprise Firsts

Famous Mitch Daniels Quotes

“I took a vow of political celibacy.”

Political Vow Celibacy

Author:Mitch Daniels

“[Obama's reelection] would subject the country to what might be a fatal last dose of statism.”

Country Might Lasts Subjects Dose Reelection

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Anything that strengthens the private sector vs. the state is protective of personal freedom.”

States Protective Private Sector Personal Freedom

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We are taking challenges and turning them into opportunities by developing homegrown, local energy production to become independent from foreign sources.”

Opportunity Energy Challenges Source Independent Productions Locals Developing Independent Women Homegrown Energy Production

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The president wasn't dragged anywhere, ... In reality, I think, it was his opposition which was dragged upstairs one step at a time from zero to this number that was very close to what the president proposed.”

Thinking Reality President Numbers Steps Opposition Zero Upstairs One Step At A Time

Author:Mitch Daniels

“I refer to the debt - the new red menace. This time consisting of ink.”

Red Debt Ink Indulgence Ideological Menace Arithmetic

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Our fiscal ruin and resulting loss of world leadership will, in their [liberals'] eyes, be not a tragic event but a desirable one.”

World Eye Loss Events Ruins Tragic Desirable World Leader Tragic Events

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The perverse presumption that places the burden of proof on the challenger of spending must be inverted, back to the rule that applies elsewhere in life: 'Prove to me why we should.”

Should Prove Burden Spending Proof Elsewhere Presumption Inverted Burden Of Proof Prove To Me

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The president's grand experiment in trickle-down government has held back rather than sped economic recovery. He seems to sincerely believe we can build a middle class out of government jobs paid for with borrowed dollars.”

Believe Seems Government Jobs President Class Economic Middle Paid Dollars Experiments Recovery Middle Class Sincerely Borrowed Trickle Down Economic Recovery Sped Government Jobs

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We are tasked to rebuild not just a damaged economy, and a debt-ridden balance sheet, but to do so by drawing forth the best that is in our fellow citizens. If we would summon the best from Americans, we must assume the best about them. If we don't believe in Americans, who will?”

Ifs Believe Economy Balance Citizens Fellows Assuming Don't Believe Debt Drawing Sheets Balance Sheets

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We believe it wrong ever to take a dollar from a free citizen without a very necessary public purpose, because each such taking diminishes the freedom to spend that dollar as its owner would prefer.”

Believe Purpose Citizens Dollars Owners Diminish

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We believe that government works for the benefit of private life, and not the other way around.”

Way Believe Government Benefits Private Life Government Work

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We designed both our state employee health plans and the one we created for low-income Hoosiers as Health Savings Accounts, and now in the tens of thousands these citizens are proving that they are fully capable of making smart, consumerist choices about their own health care.”

States Care Choices Plans Citizens Prove Capable Smart Lows Accounts Income Saving Health Care Employee Savings Low Income Savings Accounts Hoosiers Health Plan

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have-nots. We must always be a nation of haves and soon-to-haves.”

Nations Accepting Haves And Have Nots

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Sure, things could always have been done better, but I just wish people would drop their political hammers for a few weeks, as happened in 2001, and work on the problem at hand”

People Has Beens Done Problem Hands Political Wish Happened Week Hammers Sure Thing

Author:Mitch Daniels

“When business leaders ask me what they can do for Indiana, I always reply: 'Make money. Go make money. That's the first act of corporate citizenship. If you do that, you'll have to hire someone else, and you'll have enough profit to help one of those non-profits we're so proud of.'”

Ifs Firsts Enough Helping Asks Can Do Leader Proud Profit Making Money Corporate Ask Me Citizenship Business Leaders Indiana Non Profit

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We say that anytime budgets are balanced and an ample savings account has been set aside, government should just stop collecting taxes. Better to leave that money in the pockets of those who earned it, than to let it burn a hole, as it always does, in the pockets of government”

Should Doe Has Beens Government Taxes Accounts Holes Saving Budgets Pockets Balanced Savings Collecting Savings Accounts

Author:Mitch Daniels

“If freedom's best friends cannot unify around a realistic, actionable program of fundamental change, one that attracts and persuades a broad majority of our fellow citizens, big change will not come”

Ifs Bigs Citizens Program Fellows Fundamentals Majority Broads Realistic Big Changes

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn, and it was encouraging to find that no Hoosier school district had inflicted his book on its students.”

Book States School Law Teach Students Fraud American History Textbooks Oversight School Districts Hoosiers

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The failure of national economic policy is costing us more than jobs; it has begun to weaken that uniquely American spirit of risk-taking, large ambition, and optimism about the future. We must rally them now to bold departures that rebuild our national morale as well as our material prosperity.”

Wells Jobs Spirit Risk Economic Policy Materials Ambition Optimism Prosperity Departure Risk-taking Morale Economic Policy American Spirit

Author:Mitch Daniels

“All great enterprises have a pearl of faith at their core, and this must be ours: that Americans are still a people born to liberty. That they retain the capacity for self-government. That, addressed as free-born, autonomous men and women of God-given dignity, they will rise yet again to drive back a mortal enemy.”

People Men Stills Self Government Given Born Liberty Enemy Men And Women Capacity Dignity Core Mortals Enterprise Pearls Autonomous Self-government Mortal Enemies Women Of God

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Every citizen who stops smoking, or loses a few pounds, or starts managing his chronic disease with real diligence, is caulking a crack for the benefit of us all.”

Real Loses Citizens Disease Benefits Smoking Pounds Cracks Marijuana Diligence Stop Smoking

Author:Mitch Daniels

“When they call the slightest spending reductions 'painful', we will say 'If government spending prevents pain, why are we suffering so much of it?' And 'If you want to experience real pain, just stay on the track we are on.'”

Ifs Want Real Government Pain Suffering Track Painful Spending Reduction Government Spending Real Pain

Author:Mitch Daniels

“As Republicans, our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume the climb up life's ladder.”

Firsts Waiting Republican Concern Climbs Tonight Ladders Resumes

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Our morbidly obese federal government needs not just behavior modification but bariatric surgery.”

Needs Government Behavior Surgery Federal Government Modification Obese Behavior Modification

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Among the weeds choking out growth and good government are the hundreds of boards, commissions, and advisory committees that have sprouted over the years. They devour time, money, and energy far beyond any real contribution they make.”

Years Real Government Energy Growth Boards Contribution Weed Committees Choke Advisory

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Our educational results lag behind other states, and other nations, but worse still, behind the potential of the kids and the devoted teachers in our classrooms.”

Stills States Kids Nations Results Behinds Teacher Educational Classroom Devoted Lag

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy. It borrows one of every three dollars it spends. No nation, no entity, large or small, public or private, can thrive, or survive intact, with debts as huge as ours.”

Government Three Nations Economy Four Huge Dollars Debt Thrive Entity Federal Government

Author:Mitch Daniels

“A one-time tax does not get figured into people's investment decisions.”

People Doe Decision Taxes Investment One Time

Author:Mitch Daniels

“All great enterprises have a pearl of faith at their core, and this must be ours: that Americans are still a people born to liberty.”

People Stills Born Liberty Core Enterprise Pearls Autonomous Self-government

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Every successful enterprise has a very clear strategic purpose.”

Purpose Successful Clear Enterprise Strategic

Author:Mitch Daniels

“I believe that the Right to Work issue is a perfectly appropriate one for Indiana to look at.”

Believe Looks I Believe Issues Appropriate Indiana

Author:Mitch Daniels

“If we don't believe in Americans, who will? I do believe. I've seen it in the people of our very typical corner of the nation.”

People Ifs Believe Nations Don't Believe Corners Typical

Author:Mitch Daniels

“My record is, far as I know, unimpeachable.”

Author:Mitch Daniels

“No enterprise, small or large, public or private, can remain self-governing, let alone successful, so deeply in hock to others as we are about to be.”

Self Successful Enterprise Governing

Author:Mitch Daniels

“No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others.”

Has Beens Effort Constant Favors Features Divides Presidency Curry

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Our first thought is always for those on life's first rung, and how we might increase their chances of climbing.”

Firsts Might Chance Increase Climbing

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Our main task is not to see that people of great wealth add to it, but that those without much money have a greater chance to earn some.”

People Wealth Chance Greater Tasks Add

Author:Mitch Daniels

“Starting a new retirement plan for those below a certain age is something tens of millions of Americans have already been through at work.”

Age Certain Millions Plans Starting Retirement

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The public is increasingly disgusted with a steady diet of defamation, and prepared to reward those who refrain from it.”

Prepared Rewards Diets Steady Refrain Disgusted Defamation

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The true enemies of Social Security and Medicare are those who defend an imploding status quo.”

Social Enemy Security Status Quo Social Security Medicare Challenging Status Quo Challenging The Status Quo

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We don't have a prayer of defeating the Red Threat of our generation without a long boom of almost unprecedented duration.”

Long Prayer Generations Red Threat Unprecedented Duration Our Generation

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We see government's mission as fostering and enabling the important realms - our businesses, service clubs, Little Leagues, churches - to flourish.”

Littles Important Government Church Clubs Missions League Realms Enabling Little League Fostering

Author:Mitch Daniels

“And before our current legislature adjourns, we intend to become the first state of full and true choice by saying to every low and middle-income Hoosier family, if you think a non-government school is the right one for your child, you're as entitled to that option as any wealthy family; here's a voucher, go sign up.”

Ifs Thinking Firsts Children States Government School Choices Middle Lows Currents Income Your Children Wealthy Entitled Legislature Vouchers Hoosiers

Author:Mitch Daniels

“I refer, of course, to the debts our nation has amassed for itself over decades of indulgence. It is the new Red Menace, this time consisting of ink. We can debate its origins endlessly and search for villains on ideological grounds, but the reality is pure arithmetic.”

Reality Courses Nations Pure Red Debt Decades Debate Villain Ink Indulgence Ideological Menace Arithmetic

Author:Mitch Daniels

“If our nation goes over a financial Niagara, we won't have much strength and, eventually, we won't have peace. We are currently borrowing the entire defense budget from foreign investors. Within a few years, we will be spending more on interest payments than on national security. That is not, as our military friends say, a 'robust strategy.'”

Ifs Years Nations Interest Security Military Strategy Financial Spending Defense Budgets Investors National Security Payment Borrowing Robust Niagara Military Budget

Author:Mitch Daniels

“So tonight I propose one more step that I would rather not propose. I ask the most fortunate among us, those citizens earning over $100,000 per year, for one year, to pay an additional one percent on the income they receive.”

Years Asks Pay Steps Citizens Percent Income Fortunate Tonight Earning Propose

Author:Mitch Daniels

“The mortal enemies of Social Security and Medicare are those who, in contempt of the plain arithmetic, continue to mislead Americans that we should change nothing.”

Should Social Enemy Security Mortals Contempt Social Security Mislead Medicare Arithmetic Mortal Enemies

Author:Mitch Daniels

“We Hoosiers hold to some quaint notions. Some might say we 'cling' to them, though not out of fear or ignorance. We believe in paying our bills. We have kept our state in the black throughout the recent unpleasantness, while cutting rather than raising taxes, by practicing an old tribal ritual - we spend less money than we take in.”

Believe States Might Black Cutting Ignorance Taxes Bills Notion Ritual Quaint Raising Taxes Hoosiers

Author:Mitch Daniels

“There is nothing inconsistent about having a conservative outlook and being vigorous.”

Conservative Outlook Vigorous Inconsistent

Author:Mitch Daniels

About the Author

Born: April 7, 1949
Known for: Former Governor of Indiana
Quotes: 51

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