Robert M. La Follette Quotes
He [Theodore Roosevelt] acted upon the maxim that half a loaf is better than no bread. I believe that half a loaf is fatal whenever it is accepted at the sacrifice of the basic principle sought to be attained.... A half-way measure never fairly tests the principle and many utterly discredit it.
Robert M. La Follette, 1855-1925, Governor of Wisconsin (Republican), U.S. Senator (Republican, WI), Presidential Candidate (Progressive) Autobiography
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This argument is is usually made by the right wing. However, this quotation is notworthy because it was made by a left wing liberal.
Some politicians tell their constituents that they compromise but not on principles. This is illusory and often disingenuous as well. In a democracy there are many sets of principles that conflict with others just as deeply and frequently held. Even many of the principles of the U. S. Constitution conflict with other constitutional principles. If politicians never compromised on principles and ideals, there would be no operational government unless it were a theocracy or a dictatorship where there were only one set of principles in the society. The more democratic a society is the more its politicians must compromise with their fundamental principles and ideals.
He had been a Congressman before assuming the Presidency.
The quotation is text uttered by one of her characters.
Weltner was the only Georgia politician who urged state compliance with the Federal Civil Rights Law of 1964. (See {637605}.) The others advocated disobedience, crime, and obstruction, particularly the Democratic Party Candidate for Governor Lester Maddox who also advocated racial violence and had a history of it himself. Weltner refused to support Maddox, and the Democratic Party then instituted a loyalty oath for all party candidates where they promised to support and campaign for all party candidates on the ticket. Welter refused to sign the oath and support Maddox, and therefore gave up the Democratic nomination which at the time virtually guaranteed a win. (Soon after, the segregationist politicians of the South accepted the Republican invitation to switch parties and since then the remaining racists and anti-civil rights politicians run as Republicans.
See Henry Clay for an earlier expression of this point.
Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr., was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his career, he ran for President of the United States as the nominee of his own Progressive Party in the 1924 presidential election. Historian John D. Buenker describes La Follette as "the most celebrated figure in Wisconsin history."
