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Quotes about government

575 quotes from 235 people

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No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.
Harry S. Truman1884–1972The Truman Doctrine (1947)
- Democracy
Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship.
Harry S. Truman1884–1972Lecture at Columbia University (April 28, 1959)
Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.
Harry S. Truman1884–1972Address at the National Archives dedicating a shrine for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights (15 December 1952)
- Liberty
When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.
Donald Trumpborn 1946Interview with Glenn Plaskin, Playboy (March 1990)
- Power
The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.
Donald Trumpborn 1946Tweets on November 6 and 7, 2012, some of which were later deleted
- Democracy
- Voting
I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.
Donald Trumpborn 1946Speech at campaign rally (23 January 2016), Sioux Center, Iowa.
- Politics
- Voting
Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.
Mark Twain1835–1910Mark Twain’s Notebook (1935), p. 381
- Comedy
- Laws
H’aint we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain’t that a big enough majority in any town?
Mark Twain1835–1910Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), Ch. 26In context
- Comedy
- Democracy
What is the difference between a taxidermist & a tax-collector? The taxidermist only takes your skin.
Mark Twain1835–1910Mark Twain’s Notebook (1935), p. 379
- Comedy
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
?UnattributedOften credited to Benjamin Franklin
- Democracy
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
?UnattributedOften credited to Winston Churchill
- Democracy
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
?UnattributedOften credited to George Washington
Socialism: An attempt to curb the destructive power of monopolies by creating the biggest one of all.
?Unattributed
The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government⁠—lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.
?UnattributedOften credited to Patrick Henry
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
United States CongressThe Bill of Rights (Proposed 1789, ratified 1791), Amendment XIn context
- Liberty