Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Ron Paul
145 quotes
“War is not popular. It may seem popular in the short run, when there appears to be an immediate victory and everyone is gloating but war is not popular. War is not popular. People get killed, and body bags end up coming back. War is very unpopular, and it is not the politically smart thing to do.”
“The most important element of a free society, where individual rights are held in the highest esteem, is the rejection of the initiation of violence. All initiation of force is a violation of someone else's rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state, for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals, even if it's supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals. Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freedom Under Siege (1987).
“The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freedom Under Siege (1987).
“...why the American people would even give the slightest consideration for government health programs. They don't want the government to deliver their automobiles, or their videocassette recorders, or their food... The best way to deliver healthcare is the way we deliver all goods and services in a free society.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Television interview (1987).
“It's a mistake to think that poor people get the benefit from the welfare system. It's a total fraud. Most welfare go to the rich of this country: the military-industrial complex, the bankers, the foreign dictators, it's totally out of control. [...] This idea that the government has services or goods that they can pass on is a complete farce. Governments have nothing. They can't create anything, they never have. All they can do is steal from one group and give it to another at the destruction of the principles of freedom, and we ought to challenge that concept.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Television interview (1987).
“We have depended on government for so much for so long that we as people have become less vigilant of our liberties. As long as the government provides largesse for the majority, the special interest lobbyists will succeed in continuing the redistribution of welfare programs that occupies most of Congress's legislative time.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Representatives, September 17, 1997
“[The draft] should be called slavery, involuntary servitude. Howard Phillips: It violates the 13th amendment, which prohibits involuntary servitude. Ron Paul: Yeah, and the argument that I've always resented the most was, if you're 18 year old you owe it to your country. I've always wondered why the guy who's 58 and had a million bucks and hadn't served, why doesn't he owe more to this country, maybe he should be on the frontline. 18 year old didn't get anything yet, and he has to go and risk his life.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conservative Roundtable, May 1997
“Because most minority-owned construction firms are small companies, Davis-Bacon keeps minority-owned firms from competing for Federal construction contracts. The resulting disparities in employment create a demand for affirmative action, another ill-suited and ill-advised Big Government program. The racist effects of Davis-Bacon are no mere coincidence. In fact, many original supporters of Davis-Bacon, such as Representative Clayton Allgood, bragged about supporting Davis-Bacon as a means of keeping cheap colored labor out of the construction industry.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Repeal Of The Davis-Bacon Law (23 October 1997).
“Our foolish policy in Iraq invites terrorist attacks against U.S. territory and incites the Islamic fundamentalists against us.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: U.S. House of Representatives, February 2, 1999
“When one person can initiate war, by its definition, a republic no longer exists.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: War power authority should be returned to Congress, March. 9, 1999
“Abortion leads to euthanasia. I believe that.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Congress, 27 October, 1999. Congressional Record V. 145, Pt. 19, October 26, 1999 to November 3, 1999.
“Good morning, Mr. Greenspan. I understand that you did not take my friendly advice last fall. I thought maybe you should look for other employment, but I see you have kept your job.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services, February 17, 2000
“The federal government has no right to treat all Americans as criminals by spying on their relationship with their doctors, employers, or bankers.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology (May 18, 2000).
“In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement on the Congressional Education Plan, May 23, 2001
“Finally, there is a compelling moral argument against war in Iraq. Military force is justified only in self-defense; naked aggression is the province of dictators and rogue states. This is the danger of a new "preemptive first strike" doctrine. America is the most moral nation on earth, founded on moral principles, and we must apply moral principles when deciding to use military force.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: U.S. House of Representatives (September 4, 2002).
“Demanding domestic security in times of war invites carelessness in preserving civil liberties and the right of privacy. Frequently the people are only too anxious for their freedoms to be sacrificed on the altar of authoritarianism thought to be necessary to remain safe and secure. Nothing would please the terrorists more than if we willingly give up some of our cherished liberties while defending ourselves from their threat.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: U.S. House of Representatives, September 12, 2001
“Our federal government, which was intended to operate as a very limited constitutional republic, has instead become a virtually socialist leviathan that redistributes trillions of dollars. We can hardly be surprised when countless special interests fight for the money. The only true solution to the campaign money problem is a return to a proper constitutional government that does not control the economy. Big government and big campaign money go hand-in-hand.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Why Is There So Much Money in Politics? (February 4, 2002).
“The long-awaited "campaign finance reform" vote finally took place last week, with the House ultimately passing the measure. The debate was full of hypocritical high-minded talk about cleaning up corruption, all by the very politicians of both parties who dole out billions in corporate subsidies and welfare pork. It was quite a spectacle watching the big-spending, perennially-incumbent politicians argue that new laws were needed to protect them from themselves!”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Don't Believe the Hype- "Campaign Finance Reform" Serves Entrenched Interests (February 18, 2002).
“There is but one special interest that we should be working for, and that would solve just about all of our problems, and that is our liberty.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on the Patriot Act, 2003
“We have no constitutional authority to police the world or involve ourselves in nation building, in making the world safe for our style of democracy. Our founders advised against it and the early presidents followed that advice. If we believe strongly in our ideals, the best way to spread them is to set a good example so that others will voluntarily emulate us. Force will not work. Besides, we do not have the money.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the U.S. House of Representatives (September 16, 2003).
“A paper monetary standard means there are no restraints on the printing press or on federal deficits. In 1971, M3 was $776 billion; today it stands at $8.9 trillion, an 1100% increase. Our national debt in 1971 was $408 billion; today it stands at $6.8 trillion, a 1600% increase. Since that time, our dollar has lost almost 80% of its purchasing power. Common sense tells us that this process is not sustainable and something has to give. So far, no one in Washington seems interested.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paper Money and Tyranny, September 5, 2003
“War is never economically beneficial except for those in position to profit from war expenditures.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conscription - The Terrible Price of War, November 21, 2003
“Values in a free society are accepted voluntarily, not through coercion, and certainly not by law... every time we write a law to control private behavior, we imply that somebody has to arrive with a gun, because if you desecrate the flag, you have to punish that person. So how do you do that? You send an agent of the government, perhaps an employee of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Flags, to arrest him. This is in many ways patriotism with a gun – if your actions do not fit the official definition of a "patriot," we will send somebody to arrest you.”
“The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally and culturally biased against Christianity.”
“The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders' political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs.”
“Legal issues aside, the American people and government should never abide the use of torture by our military or intelligence agencies. A decent society never accepts or justifies torture. It dehumanizes both torturer and victim, yet seldom produces reliable intelligence. Torture by rogue American troops or agents puts all Americans at risk, especially our rank-and-file soldiers stationed in dozens of dangerous places around the globe. God forbid terrorists take American soldiers or travelers hostage and torture them as some kind of sick retaliation for Abu Gharib.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Torture, War, and Presidential Powers, June 15, 2004
“America was founded by men who understood that the threat of domestic tyranny is as great as any threat from abroad. If we want to be worthy of their legacy, we must resist the rush toward ever-increasing state control of our society. Otherwise, our own government will become a greater threat to our freedoms than any foreign terrorist.”
“Having federal officials, whether judges, bureaucrats, or congressmen, impose a new definition of marriage on the people is an act of social engineering profoundly hostile to liberty.”
“When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans. Deficits mean future tax increases, pure and simple. Deficit spending should be viewed as a tax on future generations, and politicians who create deficits should be exposed as tax hikers.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Deficits Make You Poorer (March 15, 2005).
“Those who seek a pro-life culture must accept that we will never persuade all 300 million Americans to agree with us. A pro-life culture can be built only from the ground up, person by person. For too long we have viewed the battle as purely political, but no political victory can change a degraded society. No Supreme Court ruling by itself can instill greater respect for life. And no Supreme Court justice can save our freedoms if we don't fight for them ourselves.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Federalizing Social Policy, January 30, 2006
“Aaron Russo: Is there a law that requires people to file a 1040? Ron Paul: Not explicitly, but it's certainly implied. Aaron Russo: Well, implied by force? Ron Paul: Yeah. Aaron Russo: But is there a law? Ron Paul: I can't cite a law, no. But, you know, if they think it's the law, and they have all the guns, it's an authoritarian approach.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: America: Freedom to Fascism, 2006
“It’s time to rethink the whole system of HMOs and managed care. This entire unnecessary level of corporatism rakes off profits and worsens the quality of care. But HMOs did not arise in the free market; they are creatures of government interference in health care dating to the 1970s. These non-market institutions have gained control over medical care through collusion between organized medicine, politicians, and drug companies, in an effort to move America toward “free” universal health care.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diagnosing our Health Care Woes, September 25, 2006
“It is not we non-interventionists who are isolationists. The real isolationists are those who impose sanctions and embargoes on countries and peoples across the globe because they disagree with the internal and foreign policies of their leaders. The real isolationists are those who choose to use force overseas to promote democracy, rather than seek change through diplomacy, engagement, and by setting a positive example.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I advocate the same foreign policy the Founding Fathers would", open letter to the Union Leader , Union Leader (2007)
“Certainly the Patriot Act would have never been passed, because it wasn't available to us... It was almost 400 pages long, and became available less than an hour before it was debated on the House floor... The congressmembers were intimidated, "if I do nothing, my people gonna be mad, because they want us to do something". And the people are frightened. When they are frightened, they are much more willing to give us their liberties. But giving up their liberties won't make them safer, that's the real sad part of it.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by Laura Knoy on NHPR, June 5, 2007
“This essential principle of our Constitutional Republic is being ridden roughshod over by imperial Washington, which bullies local governments into accepting its illegal and unconstitutional policies.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by Joseph Murtagh, June 28, 2007
“I would like to believe that if we had a freer society, it would take care of blacks and whites and everybody equally because we're all individuals. To me, that is so important. But if we had equal justice under the law, I think it would be a big improvement. If we had probably a repeal of most of the federal laws on drugs and the unfairness on how blacks are treated with these drugs laws, it would be a tremendous improvement.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Your Legacy on Race, Republican Candidates "All-American Presidential Forum" (2007)
“I don't even like big government in Washington, let alone having super government over our federal government, such as a North American Union, or the United Nations, or any of these organizations. It just means more government and more attack on individual sovereignty, which is the real issue.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: TV Special for Iowa, December 2007
“We go about the world, fighting to spread democracy and tell them how to live, but we really don't have a democratic system... The laws have been made to make it very difficult, because the Republicans and the Democrats aren't looking for the competition, they want to monopolize it. So in many ways, we are less democratic than some other systems, where they have multiple parties, and more people represented than they're able to be represented here.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by Laura Knoy on NHPR, June 5, 2007
“The theory of the IRS is rather repugnant to me because the assumption is made that I, the government, owns 100% of your income and I permit you to keep 5%, 10% or 20%. You're vulnerable, you've sold out. The government can take 80% if they want, which they did at one time.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Candidates@Google interview, July 13, 2007
“Howard Fineman: The people who don't pay their taxes on principle are heroic people, in the manner of Gandhi and Martin Luther King? Ron Paul: I think if they're defending the constitution and they know what they're doing, and this money is supporting some real evil in the world. Preemptive war? That's pretty evil as far as I'm concerned. And so much waste in a system of government that has just overrun our liberties? Yes, I think that in many ways it's heroic for people willing to risk their freedom in order to defend what they believe is freedom.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Newsweek interview by Howard Fineman, December 2007
“Special interests and the demented philosophy of conquest have driven most wars throughout history. Rarely has the cause of liberty, as it was in our own revolution, been the driving force. In recent decades our policies have been driven by neo-conservative empire radicalism, profiteering in the military industrial complex, misplaced do-good internationalism, mercantilistic notions regarding the need to control natural resources, and blind loyalty to various governments in the Middle East.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement on the Iraq War Resolution (February 14, 2007).
“The constant refrain that bringing our troops home would demonstrate a lack of support for them must be one of the most amazing distortions ever foisted on the American public.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Upcoming Iraq War Funding Bill (March 20, 2007).
“We need to worry about our borders here at home, not worry about the borders around the world, and the border between Syria and Iraq - that doesn't have anything to do with our national security, we have to deal with our own national security. Our military right now is in shambles because we've been stretched too thin. One of these days we're gonna have to wake up, and I'm afraid we won't wake up until we go bankrupt, and we're approaching that time already.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: MSNBC, April 2007
“Though many will criticize the president for mis-steps in Iraq and at home, it is with the complicity of Congress that we have become a nation of pre-emptive war, secret military tribunals, torture, rejection of habeas corpus, warrantless searches, undue government secrecy, extraordinary renditions, and uncontrolled spying on the American people. Fighting over there has nothing to do with preserving freedoms here at home. More likely the opposite is true.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Getting Iraq War Funding Wrong Again, April 30, 2007
“We have a lot of goodness in this country. And we should promote it, but never through the barrel of a gun. We should do it by setting good standards, motivating people and have them want to emulate us. But you can't enforce our goodness, like the neocons preach, with an armed force. It doesn't work.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Republican Presidential Debate, Manchester, New Hampshire, June 5, 2007
“We can achieve much more in peace than we can ever achieve in these needless, unconstitutional, undeclared wars.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa, August 5, 2007
“Christ came here for spiritual reasons, not secular war and boundaries and geography. And yet, we are now dedicating so much of our aggressive activity in the name of God, but God, he is the Prince of Peace. That is what I see from my God and through Christ. I vote for peace.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Values Voter Presidential Debate, September 17, 2007 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hCKZmkF0VU
“It really doesn't matter whether I'm right or wrong: the war is going to end because we're gonna have such a political and financial havoc here with the devaluation of our dollar, because we just can't keep affording it. This is usually how empires end, by spending too much money maintaining their empire. We're in 130 countries, we have 700 bases around the world, and it's going to come to an end. I want it to come to an end more gracefully and peacefully, follow the constitution, and follow a more sensible foreign policy.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, December 2, 2007
“How can I run for office and say I want to be a weak president? We need a strong president, strong enough to resist the temptation of taking power the President shouldn’t have.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New Hampshire Liberty Forum, February 25, 2007
“Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset that views humans strictly as members of groups rather than individuals. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike: as collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups.”
Ron Paul (born 1935) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Government and Racism" (18 April 2007).