Nathaniel Hawthorne Quotes

Jindal's record in Louisiana is controversial, in part because, in a state which has historically favored patronage culture and a bureaucracy that offered uninterrupted employment for those who backed the right horse, he aimed to destroy the old spoils system.

The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.

The ship of state is the only known vessel that leaks from the top.

Oh, that all the things my father had told me about how disgusting Washington is are true. And again it's the system - there are lots of nice, well-meaning people there. But it's a sleazy place. And politics is all about doing favors.

But, you know, we have these entrenched entities - and I'm talking about both Republicans and Democrats - who believe that when you're elected to office, you become some kind of member of the aristocracy, and that anyone who challenges you is attacking you and is unpatriotic. This is foolishness.

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government job.

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

Washington is a cesspool of non-accountability.

All governments are more or less corrupt.

In Washington, every closet has a revolving door.

I'm sick and tired of politics and politicians as usual.

Show me a supposedly 'unfixable' problem in Washington, and I'll show you the political corruption standing in the way.

I understand firsthand that Washington is broken.

The trade of governing has always been monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals of mankind.

I love the Constitution and government of this land, but I hate the damned rascals that administer the government.

What struck me more than anything is how the people that are involved in government start out from a place of really wanting to do well, no matter what kind of political spectrum they're on, how they have to hold onto that warm fuzzy place in their heart while they're stuck in the machine.

"Government," says Swift, "is a plain thing, and fitted to the capacity of many heads."

Serving in Congress is like having a second shot at high school.

We have retained the forms and phrases of a republic, but in reality we are living under an oligarchy, not of courtesan, but of bureaucrats.

Congress voted for tougher laws on corporations. So now when a corporation buys a senator, they need a receipt.

I think we have such a political cesspool in America right now.

Public office is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

Congress is best viewed from a distance - the farther the better - because up close, it is truly ugly.

Someone has said the best nursing home is the U.S. Senate.

Corruption of politics has nothing to do with the morals, or the laxity of morals, of various political personalities. Its cause is altogether a material one.