A smattering of quippy quotes in advance of polls, pols and public policy colliding on Tuesday:
“The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of whom manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.”
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
“[T]hey say if you don’t vote, you get the government you deserve. And if you do, you never get the results you expected.”
“You have the army of mediocrities followed by the multitude of fools. As the mediocrities and the fools always form the immense majority, it is impossible for them to elect an intelligent government.”
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”
“Wishful thinking is not sound public policy.”
“Numeracy isn’t a sign of geekiness, but a basic requirement for intelligent discussions of public policy.”
“A basic tenet of a healthy democracy is open dialogue and transparency.”
“Change based on principle is progress. Constant change without principle becomes chaos.”
“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.
And, finally:
“Our American heritage is threatened as much by our own indifference as it is by the most unscrupulous office seeker or by the most powerful foreign threat. The future of this Republic is in the hands of the American voter.”
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
