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Political Quotes

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Political Quotes

“Some musicians play blues, others classical jazz or bluegrass. I like to play political roles because I can merge my political interests with my creative interests.”

I Can Play Political Interest Roles Creative Musician Jazz Because I Can Bluegrass

Author:Jeffrey Wright

“People getting their fundamental interests wrong is what American political life is all about.”

People Political Life Is Interest Fundamentals Political Life

Book:What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

Source: What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

“We are more thoroughly an enlightened people, with respect to our political interests, than perhaps any other under heaven. Every man among us reads, and is so easy in his circumstances as to have leisure for conversations of improvement and for acquiring information.”

People Men America Political Heaven Easy Interest Information Circumstances Conversation Respect Improvement Every Man Enlightened Leisure

Book:The Works of Benjamin Franklin; Containing Several Political and Historical Tracts Not Included in Any Former Edition, and Many Letters, Official and Private, Not Hitherto Published; with Notes and a Life of the Author

Source: The Works of Benjamin Franklin; Containing Several Political and Historical Tracts Not Included in Any Former Edition, and Many Letters, Official and Private, Not Hitherto Published; with Notes and a Life of the Author

“If anyone feels offended by my words, I would respond that I speak them with affection and with the best of intentions, quite apart from any personal interest or political ideology. My words are not those of a foe or an opponent. I am interested only in helping those who are in thrall to an individualistic, indifferent and self-centred mentality to be freed from those unworthy chains and to attain a way of living and thinking which is more humane, noble and fruitful, and which will bring dignity to their presence on this earth.”

Source: The Joy of the Gospel

“Is it really true that political self-interest is nobler somehow than economic self-interest?”

Self Political Interest Economic Capitalism Self Interest Really True

Author:Milton Friedman

“The interest of the people lies in being able to join organizations, advocate causes, and make political "mistakes" without being subjected to governmental penalties.”

People Government Able Political Lying Causes Interest Mistake Liberty Organization Penalties People Lie

Author:Hugo Black

“The United States cannot reshape other countries in its own image and that, with a few exceptions, its efforts to police the world are neither in its interests nor within the scope of its resources. This whole tendency to see ourselves as the center of political enlightenment and as teachers to a great part of the rest of the world strikes me as unthought-through, vainglorious and undesirable.”

World Country States Whole America Political Interest United Effort United States Teacher Enlightenment Resources Police Strikes Tendencies Exception Other Countries Scope Undesirable

Author:George F. Kennan

“I think that is the fight that we have to wage if we're to save the middle class. And I do have doubts about whether Hillary Clinton or whether any Republican candidate out there is prepared to take on the big money interests who control so much of our economy and as a result of Citizens United, our political process as well.”

Ifs Thinking Wells Bigs Political Fighting Process Interest United Results Class Economy Doubt Middle Citizens Republican Prepared Clinton Candidates Middle Class Citizens United

Author:Lindsey Graham

“The diseased pride [of artistic individualists] was not even conscious of a public interest, and would have found all political terms utterly tasteless and insignificant. It was no longer a question of one man one vote, but of one man one universe.”

Men Political Universe Found Term Interest Pride Conscious Vote Individuality Artistic One Man Insignificant Public Interest Diseased

Author:Gilbert K. Chesterton

“John Kerry's newfound interest in fiscal discipline is a political gimmick that defies his 20-year record in the Senate and stands in stark contrast to his reckless and expansive promises of new government spending on the campaign trail.”

Years Government Political Interest Records Discipline Promise Spending Campaigns Senate Contrast Trails Reckless Starks John Kerry Government Spending Gimmicks New Government

Author:Steve Schmidt

“Is Christianity just another special-interest group, clawing for political power? Or, even if Christians are acting as God's spokesmen, must Christians always conduct themselves politically as if Christianity were just another special-interest group? Do Christians conduct evangelism this way?.”

Ifs Way Christian Political Interest Acting Christianity Groups Special Evangelism Political Power Special Interests Interest Groups Special Interest Groups

Book:Political polytheism: the myth of pluralism

Source: Political polytheism: the myth of pluralism

“When the concept of Social Security came before the House, every Republican but one voted against it. Had it not been for the Democrats, Social Security would never have passed, and our older people would not have this great support that our people provide. It has been my experience that Democrats generally vote to protect the people, while Republicans seem to try to protect the interests of big business.”

People Trying Has Beens Bigs Seems Political House Politics Social Interest Support Security Republican Protect Concepts Vote Democrat Social Security Big Business Older People

Author:Sam Rayburn

“If I were a factory employee, a workman on the railroads or a wage-earner of any sort, I would undoubtedly join the union of my trade. If I disapproved of its policy, I would join in order to fight that policy; if the union leaders were dishonest, I would join in order to put them out. I believe in the union and I believe that all men who are benefited by the union are morally bound to help to the extent of their power in the common interests advanced by the union.”

Ifs Men Believe Helping Political Order Fighting Politics I Believe Interest Common Leader Policy Trade Unions Bounds I Believe In Employee Factories Railroads Workmen Common Interests

Book:Bully!

Source: Bully!

“Pay 2 Play vividly tells the story of the threat posed to our political process by big money interests and what we can do to fight back to defend our Republic. This is a must-see movie for anyone who cares about the cause of democracy and the promise of political equality for all.”

Play Stories Bigs Care Political Fighting Causes Process Interest Can Do Pay Democracy Promise Threat Republic Who Cares Equality For All Political Equality

Author:John Bonifaz

“I see no other conceivable strategy for the achievement of liberty than political action. Religious or philosophical conversion of each man and woman is simply not going to work; that strategy ignores the problem of power, the fact that millions of people have a vested interest in statism and are not likely to give it up.... Education in liberty is of course vital, but it is not enough; action must also be taken to roll back the State.”

“It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness. But if we had no divine instruction on the subject, our own interest would demand of us a strict observance of the principle of these injunctions. . . .”

“A masterly analysis of how political interests, economic circumstances, development strategies, and local history have shaped what are surprisingly different versions of the welfare state across the developing world. The authors combine fine-grained country analyses with intelligent use of data, and explain and extend the theory and literature on the modern welfare state. The book is both scholarly and readable.”

“But man is above all a social and political animal; his relations with his fellow human beings form his most absorbing and important interest.”

Men Humans Important Form Political Social Interest Human Beings Animal Relation Fellows Absorbing Political Animals

Author:Logan Pearsall Smith

“State intervention in economic production arises only when private initiative is lacking or insufficient, or when the political interests of the State are involved. This intervention may take the form of control, assistance or direct management.”

May States Form Political Interest Economic Involved Economics Direct Management Productions Arise Socialism Fascism Initiative Lacking Assistance Intervention Insufficient

Author:Benito Mussolini

“Although [in 1937] we might still hope to prevent the divisions of Europe into Fascist and anti-Fascist camps, our real affinities and interests, strategic as well as political, lay with France, a fact which some of my colleagues were most reluctant to realise.”

Wells Stills Real Facts Might Political Interest Europe Lays France Division Realising Camps Colleagues Strategic Fascists Reluctant Affinity

Book:Facing the Dictators: The Eden Memoirs

Source: Facing the Dictators: The Eden Memoirs

“All political arrangements, in that they have to bring a variety of widely-discordant interests into unity and harmony, necessarily occasion manifold collisions. From these collisions spring misproportions between men's desires and their powers; and from these, transgressions. The more active the State is, the greater is the number of these.”

Men States Political Desire Interest Numbers Greater Spring Harmony Unity Active Variety Occasions Arrangements Collision Transgression Manifold

Author:Wilhelm von Humboldt

“Let me assure my countrymen of the Southern States that it is my earnest desire to regard and promote their truest interest - the interests of the white and of the colored people both and equally and to put forth my best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which will forever wipe out in our political affairs the color line and the distinction between North and South, to the end that we may have not merely a united North or a united South, but a united country.”

“In the course of evolution nature has gone to endless trouble to see that every individual is unlike every other individual....Physically and mentally, each one of us is unique. Any culture which, in the interests of efficiency or in the name of some political or religious dogma, seeks to standardize the human individual, commits an outrage against man's biological nature.”

Men Humans Political Culture Courses Names Individual Interest Religious Gone Trouble Evolution Unique Endless Commit Dogma Efficiency Outrage Religious Dogma

Author:Aldous Huxley

“In the background lurks the scourge of international terrorism. There are people exercising power in a few countries and leading political factions in others who seem to be moved by narrow, brutal and irrational impulses. Their view of their own self-interest is so blinkered as to leave no space for purely human values, for peaceful negotiation or for economic advancement. They are bent on the destruction of the established order and of civilised ways of doing business. They must never be allowed to succeed.”

“The limitations imposed by democratic political practices makes it difficult to conduct our foreign affairs in the national interest.”

Political Difficult Interest Practice Democratic Affair Limitation National Interests Foreign Affairs

Book:Private thoughts on public affairs: a citizen looks at Congress, and a Democrat looks at his party

Source: Private thoughts on public affairs: a citizen looks at Congress, and a Democrat looks at his party

“We've gotta restore the American people's confidence in the ethics process by ensuring that political self-interest can no longer prevent politicians from enforcing ethics rules.”

People Self Political Process Interest Politician Ethics Self Interest

Author:Barack Obama

“Do the rhetorical quarrels of bourgeois political parties have anything to do with the interests of the humble and downtrodden?”

Political Interest Party Humble Political Parties Quarrels Bourgeois Rhetorical Downtrodden

Book:The War of the End of the World

Source: The War of the End of the World

“Our mass media have little difficulty in selling particular interests as those of all sensible men. The political needs of society become individual needs and aspirations, their satisfaction promotes business and the commonweal, and the whole appeals to be the very embodiment of Reason.”

Men Needs Littles Reason Whole Political Individual Interest Media Particular Mass Difficulty Satisfaction Selling Appeals Aspiration Sensible Embodiment Mass Media

Author:Herbert Marcuse

“India is a democracy; it is in our DNA. As far as the different political parties are concerned, I firmly believe that they have the maturity and wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of the nation.”

Believe Different Political Nations Interest Decision Party Democracy Concerned India Maturity Dna Political Parties

Author:Narendra Modi

“The world is now unipolar and contains only one superpower. Canada shares a continent with that superpower. In this context, given our common values and the political, economic and security interests that we share with the United States, there is now no more important foreign policy interest for Canada than maintaining the ability to exercise effective influence in Washington so as to advance unique Canadian policy objectives.”

“The project of organizing a democratic political movement entails the hope that one's ideas and beliefs are not merely idiosyncratic but speak to vital human needs, interests and desires, and therefore will be persuasive to many and ultimately most people. But this is a very different matter from deciding to put forward only those ideas presumed (accurately or not) to be compatible with what most people already believe.”

Source: Don't Think, Smile!: Notes on a Decade of Denial

“The fact that the president was willing to reveal classified information for political gain and put the interests of his political party ahead of America's security shows that he can no longer be trusted to keep America safe.”

Facts Shows America Political President Interest Party Security Information Willing Safe Gains Trusted Political Parties Classified Information

Author:Howard Dean

“My objective is that before the end of the millennium Europe should have a true federation. The Commission should become a political executive which can define essential common interests... responsible before the European Parliament and before the nation-states represented how you will, by the European Council or by a second chamber of national parliaments.”

Should Ends States Political Nations Interest Common Essentials Europe Should Have Responsible Objectives Executives Parliament Council Chamber Millennium Common Interests Federation

Author:Jacques Delors

“There are a lot of people who say we need to cut the amount of money that's spent in politics. I'm not sure that I agree. But I am sure that if you were talking about cutting the amount of money spent in politics, the media would have a strong interest in opposing you, because they make an enormous amount of money from political advertisements.”

People Ifs Needs Political Strong Interest Talking Cutting Media Amount Agree Enormous Not Sure Opposing Advertisements

Author:Lawrence Lessig

“What I find most appalling is the Senate calls it a qualified blind trust when it's not blind. Since the Senate says it's OK, the Senate has made it a political question. It's up to the voter. But there's no doubt it's a conflict of interest.”

Made Political Interest Doubt Conflict Blind Made It No Doubt Voters Senate Blindness Qualified Conflict Of Interest Blind Trust

Author:Kathleen Clark

“For Stirner, the social axiom of conservative, liberal, and socialist schools of political thought alike is in itself repressive: it disguises as potentially redemptive an order whose central function is inhibitory of the individual's interests.”

School Political Order Individual Social Interest Function Conservative Disguise Socialist Axioms

Book:Break-Out from the Crystal Palace: The Anarcho-Psychological Critique: Stirner, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky

Source: Break-Out from the Crystal Palace: The Anarcho-Psychological Critique: Stirner, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky

“Adam Smith's was a real universalism in intent. Laissez Faire was intended to establish a world community as well as a natural harmony of interests within each nation... But the "children of darkness" were able to make good use of his creed. A dogma which was intended to guarantee the economic freedom of the individual became the "ideology" of vast corporate structures of a later period of capitalism, used by them, and still used, to prevent a proper political control of their power.”

“What I've found is that there is a tremendous interest in these issues, across the political spectrum, sort of left-right terms we used to describe people don't really hold here exactly.”

People Political Used Found Left Term Interest Issues Spectrum Political Spectrum

Author:Robert Waterman McChesney

“It doesn't serve an American interest. It really doesn't really serve Israeli interests - it serves the interests of the political party that's getting the votes of the settlers on the West Bank.”

Political Literature Interest Party Vote West Political Parties Israeli Settlers

Author:Chris Matthews

“New information technologies-including email, the web, and computerized blast-faxes and phone calls-have fundamentally changed the landscape of political competition in modern democracies. They've done so in three ways: by dramatically boosting the access of individuals and special interests to politically potent information, by making it easier for such people to coordinate their activities and exert political power, and by greatly increasing the pace of events within our political systems.”

“I don't use my money to gain political influence for my private interests, which is what many rich people do, and what, in a sense, market fundamentalism does, because it is in the interests of people who have a lot of money to have as little taxes as possible.”

People Littles Doe Use Political Interest Rich Influence Taxes Gains Lots Of Money Fundamentalism Rich People Political Influence

Author:George Soros

“The illegitimate use of a state by economic interests for their own ends is based upon a preexisting illegitimate power of the state to enrich some persons at the expense of others. Eliminate that illegitimate power of giving differential economic benefits and you eliminate or drastically restrict the motive for wanting political influence.”

Giving Persons Ends States Use Political Interest Influence Economic Benefits Motive Expenses Political Influence

Book:Anarchy, state, and utopia

Source: Anarchy, state, and utopia

“Yoo's theory promotes frank discussion of the national interest and makes it harder for politicians to parade policy conflicts as constitutional crises. Most important, Yoo's approach offers a way to renew our political system's democratic vigor.”

Way Important Political Interest Policy Theory Politician Offers Conflict Approach Harder Crisis Democratic Discussion Frank Parades Political Systems Vigor National Interests

Author:David B. Rivkin

“History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. ... These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections, by which the whole state is weakened.”

“Enlist the interests of stern Morality and religious Enthusiasm in the cause of Political Liberty, as in the time of the old Puritans, and it will be irresistible.”

Political Causes Interest Religious Liberty Morality Enthusiasm Irresistible Puritan

Book:Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Source: Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“American cities are kind of difficult contexts to work in. They are politically complex. There are a lot of different interest groups. It takes immense political skill to get anything done at all.”

Kind Different Done Political Difficult Interest Cities Groups Skills Complexes Immense Interest Groups American Cities

Author:William J. Mitchell

“The genius of the Republicans has been how they figured out how to so polarize the middle class that we vote against our own best interests.”

Has Beens Political Politics Interest Party Class Middle Genius Republican Vote Middle Class Political Parties

Author:Patricia Schroeder

“Both political parties have a richly vested interest in corporate corruption.”

Political Interest Party Corruption Corporate Political Parties Vested Interests

Book:Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption Are Undermining America

Source: Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption Are Undermining America

“... the whole of society in Washington is to some degree political. It is like no other capital city known to me, in that political thinking, the whole business, technical and personal, of politics, is not diluted by an equal interest in art, industry, amusement, anything you like. I don't meant that these are non-existent in Washington -- only that they are subdued to the ruling passion.”

Thinking Art Whole Political Passion Interest Cities Known Industry Equal Degrees Ruling Amusement Ruling Passion Political Thinking

Book:Journey from the North, Volume 2: Autobiography of Storm Jameson

Source: Journey from the North, Volume 2: Autobiography of Storm Jameson

“Whenever the clergy succeeded in conquering political power in any country, the result has been disastrous to the interests of religion and inimical to the progress of humanity.”

Has Beens Country Political Humanity Interest Results Progress Conquer Political Power Clergy

Book:James Connolly: Selected Writings

Source: James Connolly: Selected Writings