MARGARET CHASE SMITH

When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it.

Public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation.

Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk.

Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods.

The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little. They act impulsively without thinking.

Smears are not only to be expected but fought. Honor is to be earned, not bought.

I always try to think before I talk.

Every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration. Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought.

Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character.

My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned but not bought.

The American people are sick and tired of being afraid to speak their minds lest they be politically smeared as "Communists" or "Fascists" by their opponents. Freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America. It has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others.

The United States Senate has long enjoyed worldwide respect as the greatest deliberative body in the world. But recently that deliberative character has too often been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism

One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little.

Leadership is not manifested by coercion, even against the resented. Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods.

The preservation of freedom is in the hands of the people themselves — not of the government.

My basic rule is to speak slowly and simply so that my audience has an opportunity to follow and think about what I am saying.

It is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation. Whether it be a criminal prosecution in court or a character prosecution in the Senate, there is little practical distinction when the life of a person has been ruined.

Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes.

The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny — Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.

I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. Surely we Republicans aren't that desperate for victory.

As a United States Senator, I am not proud of the way in which the Senate has been made a publicity platform for irresponsible sensationalism.

As an American, I condemn a Republican "Fascist" just as much as I condemn a Democrat "Communist." I condemn a Democrat "Fascist" just as much as I condemn a Republican "Communist." They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves.