“Well, I thought the deal was, when you went to work for the government you weren't supposed to make money!”
Government shapes daily life in ways most people never think about. These quotes cover democracy, policy, power, corruption, civic duty, and the endless debate over how much government is too much — or not enough.
“We are beginning a new era in our government. I cannot too strongly urge the necessity of a rigid economy and an inflexible determination not to enlarge the income beyond the real necessities of the government.”
“Well, I thought the deal was, when you went to work for the government you weren't supposed to make money!”
“The government invented the Internet.”
“America's greatness is not found in the size of its government. America's greatness resides in the hearts and the minds of the people.”
“What I worry about would be that you essentially have two chambers, the House and the Senate, but you have simply, majoritarian, absolute power on either side. And that's just not what the founders intended.”
“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”
“No way, no how did I break into NORAD. That's a complete myth. And I never attempted to access anything considered to be classified government systems.”
“The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.”
“The government, for example, has determined that black people (somehow) have fewer abilities than white people, and, so, must be given certain preferences. Anyone acquainted with both black and white people knows this assessment is not only absurd but monstrous. And yet it is the law.”
“The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.”
“To rule is easy, to govern difficult.”
“The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens.”
“I don't believe an Alliance government should sponsor legislation on abortion or a referendum on abortion.”
“I hate big government, but I really hate a government that doesn't work. So when 'they say we either have to raise taxes or cut core services,' it's actually a 'false choice.'”
“President Obama's reckless defense cuts that are hanging over our cloud, hanging over the horizon could put almost 44,000 jobs at stake right here in Pennsylvania. we are not going to let that happen. You know why? Because No. 1, national defense is the first priority of the federal government.”
“Unfortunately, President Obama's failed policies of new regulations, higher taxes, and Obamacare and his anti-business rhetoric have hit Hispanics especially hard. Big government really hurts those who are trying to make it.”