In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.

In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate.

If you are to stand up for your Government you must be able to stand up to your Government.

If you are to stand up for your Government you must be able to stand up to your Government.

For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why read more

For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments.

I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.

I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.

It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most read more

It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most vitally from democracy. In a despotism there is no organized opposition which can take over the power when the Administration in office has failed. All the eggs are in one basket. Everything is staked on one coterie of men. When the going is good, they move more quickly and efficiently than democracies, where the opposition has to be persuaded and conciliated. But when they lose, there are no reserves. There are no substitutes on the bench ready to go out on the field and carry the ball. That is why democracies with the habit of party government have outlived all other forms of government in the modern world. They have, as it were, at least two governments always at hand, and when one fails they have the other. They have diversified the risks of mortality, corruption, and stupidity which pervade all human affairs. They have remembered that the most beautifully impressive machine cannot run for very long unless there is available a complete supply of spare parts.

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he read more

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future.

The plans differ; the planners are all alike...

The plans differ; the planners are all alike...

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

The law isn't justice. It's a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, read more

The law isn't justice. It's a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answer. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be.