Political Quotations – Set 1

1. Intellect alone is a dry and rattling thing. – Ilka Chase, American author, actress, humorist (1905-1978)

2. During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. – George Orwell, writer (1903-1950)

3. Whenever ‘A’ attempts by law to impose his moral standards upon ‘B’, ‘A’ is most likely a scoundrel. – H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)

4. History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstances. – Donald Creighton, Canadian historian (1902-1979)

5. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776

6. The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing. – Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister, 1964

7. He could not see a belt without hitting below it. – Margot Asquith on David Lloyd George

8. One fifth of the people are against everything all the time. – Robert Kennedy

9. I’m not a crook. – President Richard Nixon

10. Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking. – Clement Attlee

11. History teaches us to beware of demagogues who wrap themselves in the flag in an attempt to appeal to the worst aspects of nationalism. – Judge Alistair Nicholson on Pauline Hanson

12. He has not a single redeeming defect. – Benjamin Disraeli on W.E. Gladstone

13. A Conservative government is an organised hypocrisy. – Benjamin Disraeli

14. John Major, Norman Lamont: I wouldn’t spit in their mouths if their teeth were on fire. – Rodney Bickerstaffe (1993)

15. John Major is what he is: a man from nowhere, going nowhere, heading for a well-merited obscurity as fast as his mediocre talents can carry him. – Paul Johnson (March 1993)

16. A State without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation. – Edmund Burke

17. All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies. – John Arbuthnot

18. Politics is the art of putting people under obligation to you. – Jacob L. Arvey

19. Venal prick. – Sen. Robert Ray on Sen. Mal Colston (Sunday Age, 13 April 1997)

20. Those who insist on the dignity of their office show they have not deserved it. – Baltasar Gracian, philosopher and writer (1601-1658)

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