39+ Eugene McCarthy Quotes On Education, Government And Democracy

Eugene McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 1959 to 1971. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, and ran for president in 1968 on an anti-war platform. He was also a strong advocate for civil rights and environmental protection. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Eugene McCarthy on education, government, democracy.

Top 10 Eugene McCarthy Quotes

1. Saying we should keep the two-party system simply because it is working is like saying the Titanic voyage was a success because a few people survived on life-rafts.
2. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty.
3. As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.
4. We don't declare war any more; we declare national defense.
5. Remember that the worst accidents occur in the middle of the road.
6. The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency.
7. No man could be equipped for the presidency if he has never been tempted by one of the seven cardinal sins.
8. The polls show that 10 percent of the public are ready to vote for me even though they don't know I'm running. We hope that figure won't drop when they learn I'm in the race.
9. You know when I first thought I might have a chance? When I realized that you could go into any bar in the country and insult Lyndon Johnson and nobody would punch you in the nose.
10. Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important.

Eugene McCarthy Short Quotes

• The mortician interviewing the corpses
• I can still smell the tear gas in the Hilton Hotel.
• War is indefensible on every grounds, military and economic and diplomatic and also on moral.
• Have you ever tried to split sawdust?
• I would not want to put him in charge of snake control in Ireland.
• Never say anything in a national campaign that anyone might remember.
• Anything said three times in Washington becomes a fact.
• If any of you are secret poets, the best way to break into print is to run for the presidency.
• The function of liberal Republicans is to shoot the wounded after battle.

Eugene McCarthy Quotes About Politics

In politics one may remain aloof and become irrelevant or get involved and get corrupted. — Eugene McCarthy

It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember. — Eugene McCarthy

There is a long-standing tradition in America of scoffing at poets, especially if they show any interest in politics. — Eugene McCarthy

One thing about a pig, he thinks he's warm if his nose is warm. I saw a bunch of pigs one time that had frozen together in a rosette, each one's nose tucked under the rump of the one in front. We have a lot of pigs in politics. — Eugene McCarthy

Whatever is morally necessary must be made politically possible. — Eugene McCarthy

The two-party system has given this country the war of Lyndon Johnson, the Watergate of Nixon, and the incompetence of Carter. Saying we should keep the two-party system simply because it is working is like saying the Titanic voyage was a success because a few people survived on life-rafts. — Eugene McCarthy

If you're in the penaut business you learn to think small. — Eugene McCarthy

Eugene McCarthy Famous Quotes And Sayings

There is danger in the concentration of control in the television and radio networks, especially in the large television and radio stations; danger in the concentration of ownership in the press...and danger in the increasing concentration of selection by book publishers and reviewers and by the producers of radio and television programs. — Eugene McCarthy

Broken things are powerful."Things about to break are stronger still.The last shot from the brittle bow is truest. — Eugene McCarthy

The Senate is the last primitive society in the world. We still worship the elders of the tribe and honor the territorial imperative. — Eugene McCarthy

The difference between Carter and [Ted] Kennedy: Carter has this vague religion which he believes in strongly, while Kennedy has this strong religion which he believes in vaguely. — Eugene McCarthy

Vote against anything introduced with a "re" in it, especially reforms, reorganizations, and recodifications. This usually means going back to something that failed once and is likely to do so again. — Eugene McCarthy

A newspaper may somewhat arrogantly assert that it prints "all the news that's fit to print." But no newspaper yet has been moved to declare at the end of each edition, "That's the way it is," as Walter Cronkite does. — Eugene McCarthy

Let us pick up again these lost strands and weave them again into the fabric of America, sort out the music from the sounds and again respond to the trumpet and the steady drum. — Eugene McCarthy

Nixon is the kind of guy who, if you were drowning twenty feet from shore, would throw you a fifteen-foot rope. — Eugene McCarthy

I may have been prejudiced against lawyer members of Congress, having run against one or two and having been threatened politically by a few others, and also because my own professional background was academic, principally in the liberal arts. Good lawyers, I asserted in campaigns, can be found in the yellow pages of the telephone books. Good historians, or political and social philosophers, are not so easily found or classified. — Eugene McCarthy

We do not need presidents who are bigger than the country, but rather ones who speak for it and support it. — Eugene McCarthy

The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty. — Eugene McCarthy

This is, I say, the time for all good men not to go to the aid of their party, but to come to the aid of their country. — Eugene McCarthy

I'm kind of an accidental instrument, really, through which I hope that the judgment and the will of this nation can be expressed. — Eugene McCarthy

Life Lessons by Eugene McCarthy

1. Eugene McCarthy taught the importance of standing up for what you believe in, no matter the cost. He demonstrated this by running for president in 1968 on an anti-war platform, despite the unpopularity of his views at the time.
2. He also showed the importance of speaking out against injustice, and not being afraid to challenge the status quo.
3. Finally, his life showed the power of perseverance, as he continued to speak out and advocate for his beliefs throughout his life.