P. J. O'Rourke Quotes About Politicians

Quotes about: Politicians

• When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Witty, Funny Inspirational, Government

  P J O'Rourke (1992). “Parliament of Whores-Open Mark”, Vintage Books USA

• A politician who commends himself as 'caring' and 'sensitive' because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to do good with other peoples' money.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Caring, Government, Liberty

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “The Enemies List”, p.150, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

• Politicians are always interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Dog, Freedom, People

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government”, p.58, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

• I rarely meet a politician that I don't like personally. They are generally well endowed with charm. Therein lies the danger.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Lying, Politician, Danger

• There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as "caring" and "sensitive" because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. Well, who isn't? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money - if a gun is held to his head.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Pride, Caring, Gun

  "Why I Am a Conservative". Book by P. J. O'Rourke, 1996.

• You can't get something for nothing. Everybody remembers this except politicians.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Political, Remember, Politician

  P. J. O'Rourke (2011). “Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics”, p.76, Pan Macmillan

• Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit. A politician is anyone who asks individuals to surrender part of their liberty - their power and privilege - to State, Masses, Mankind, Planet Earth, or whatever. This state, those masses, that mankind, and the planet will then be run by ... politicians.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Running, Political, Liberty

  "All the Trouble in the World". Book by P. J. O'Rourke, 1994.

• God has no role to play in politics except to make sure politicians go where they belong. To hell.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Play, Political, Roles

• Politicians are wonderful people as longa as they stay away from things they don't understand, such as working for a living.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  People, Wonderful, Politician

• Politics are for foreigners with their endless wrongs and paltry rights. Politics are a lousy way to get things done. Politics are, like God's infinite mercy, a last resort.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Rights, Done, Politics

• The political process consists entirely of politicians talking out of their butts.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Talking, Political, Politician

• Once we realized that there were these 25 invariable types - the class politician, the frigid popular girl, the kid who tags along behind the jocks - once we came up with these key characters in a cloud of marijuana, the whole thing just came together. One of the things I'm really proud of is how much of a high-school yearbook it is in its look, so much so that Hunter Publishing had the art director, David Kaestle, and I come for years to their annual convention and do a little talk on how not to do a yearbook.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Girl, Art, Character

  Source: www.avclub.com

• Distracting a politician from governing is like distracting a bear from eating your baby.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Baby, Government, Politics

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut”, p.268, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

• Political systems are run by self-selecting politicians. We don't draft people; it's not jury duty.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Running, Self, People

  "How to interview P.J. O’Rourke on drugs while getting your mind blown and not embarrass yourself". Interview with Mike Riggs, dailycaller.com. November 5, 2010.

• You'll note that politicians no longer spend money, they invest it. Don't worry about paying more to the [IRS]. You aren't being taxed; you're taking a plunge on a fly-by-night stock issue.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Night, Issues, Worry

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government”, p.19, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

• Bureaucrats want bigger bureaus. Special interests are interested in whatever's special to them. These two groups bring great pressure to bear upon politicians who have another agenda yet:
  to cater to the temporary whims and fads of the public and the press.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  Two, Special, Pressure

  P. J. O'Rourke (2007). “All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty”, p.197, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

• Political systems must love poverty-they produce so much of it. Poor people make easier targets for a demagogue. No Mao or even Jiang Zemin is likely to arise on the New York Stock Exchange floor. And politicians in democracies benefit from destitution, too. The US has had a broad range of poverty programs for 30 years. Those programs have failed. Millions of people are still poor. And those people vote for politicians who favor keeping the poverty programs in place. There's a conspiracy theory in there somewhere.

  P. J. O'Rourke

  New York, Years, People

  P. J. O'Rourke (2011). “Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics”, p.156, Pan Macmillan

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