Bill Pierce Quotes

A President cannot call men from all parts of the country during the time between his nomination and his election, seek their advice, their counsel, their service, their cooperation in his personal behalf and in behalf of the party ... and also tell them in the same breath, to see the Secretary of War, the Attorney General and the Postmaster General about a presidential nomination.

Lincoln left the bulk of the nominations for presidential as well as for subordinate offices to his political friends and advisors. The military forces as well as the civilian establishment were exploited freely, and political generals were notoriously numerous. With more offices at his disposal than any president up to that time, … Lincoln appears to have used — or permitted the use of — the appointing power at his command as deliberately as they could have been used for practical, and usually partisan, political purposes.

In 44 states, the [parole] board is wholly appointed by the governor, and the well-paid positions can become gifts for former aides and political allies. While some state laws require basic qualifications, these statutes are often vaguely worded, with language that is easily sidestepped. Many states have no minimum requirements at all.

There can be no complete and permanent reform of the civil service until public opinion emancipates congressmen from all control and influence over government patronage ... No proper legislation is to be expected as long as members of Congress are engaged in procuring offices for their constituents

I was only one-half the appointing power. I nominated, but the Senate confirmed.

[Martin] Van Buren says he considers it as a misfortune when any office to be filled by him becomes vacant, and thinks patronage rather a burden than a benefit.

Mr. Roosevelt, when you are in Washington as long as I have been, you will learn that the President of the United States calls on nobody.

The great defect in the past custom is that executive patronage has come to be regarded as the property of the party in power.

I am now in a contest on the question of the right of Senators to dictate or control all nominations. Mr. [Roscoe] Conkling insists that no officer shall be appointed in New York without his [Conkling's] consent, obtained previously to the nomination.

Every single administration in American political history has put cronies and pals and donors into political positions. But normally those people become the ambassador to Liechtenstein or the deputy undersecretary of commerce.

You got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents.

There are Americans will find it difficult to believe that the Prime Minister can simply impose candidates on ridings, and can so efficiently move individuals out of private life and into the Cabinet with virtually no resort to the electorate.

'Favoritism' is always a factor, and pressure always build for the appointment of friends of influential supporters of the President, or for the nominees of powerful Member of Congress from the incoming President's party.

The American people do not want ambassadorships or any other position handed out to save a party money.

The success of any executive measure must now be bought by the use of political patronage in influencing the action of legislators.

I will not dismiss, or drop from Executive offices, able and faithful political opponents to provide for my own partisans.

Throughout most of Chicago's history, the Civil Service Commission has been enmeshed in partisan politics. Thousands of city employees were given temporary appointments and kept in this status, year after year, in order to keep them loyal partisan political workers.

[Describing the executive branch:] ... a chameleon taking its color from the character and personality of the President.

When you buy a Presidential candidate, you buy his party and you buy 20,000 appointees you never heard of.

It is a handicap to any man to succeed a member of his own party as President. He has little patronage with which to reward his personal supporters.

Presidents ought to get the appointments they want for the cabinet and then be responsible for them.

... the persons who control the President's rhetoric exert an enormous influence over his actions and policies.

The appointment of subordinates or the nominations for appointments are just as much a part of our [congress's] responsibility as any other which we have, and a share in those appointments ... is one of the recognized rights of the people.

Presidents have molded and been molded by all that happens here [Washington DC].

The process has failed to prevent the President, the Senate, or both, from caring primarily about the immediate political gains of an appointment, and thus from being indifferent or even consciously opposed to considering any of the factors truly relevant to selecting competent jurists.