John Conyers Quotes

On my conservative days I’m a Democrat.

Conservatives don’t seem to criticize their own as much as liberals do. It’s not that they don’t do it. It’s that they don’t do it with the same zeal and enthusiasm.

I was never a Democrat but there are some Republicans who think I ought to be.

Liberals ... enjoy the company of other liberals, just as conservatives enjoy the company of other conservatives.

Too often, the Democratic Party has been split between its grass-roots activists on one side and its elected officials and party leaders on the other. It's important to remember: We need both wings to fly.

The great value of the two party system is that after the progressive party has taken a step forward in the face of agonized yells, the conservatives come in and—true to their platform—change nothing at all. Such is the way dangerous innovations turn into glorious traditions.

I am a conservative to preserve all that is good in our constitution, a radical to remove all that is bad.

Some people say we Democrats have to nominate a moderate in 1988, someone who doesn't say much, who says it with a slightly southern accent, who espouses strong conservatism with just a little dash of compassion thrown in. They've described a liberal Republican basically, sort of a George W. Bush with chest hair.

The left and right have been as bad as each other. The left has allowed its distrust of markets and endless faith in government to obscure the importance of civil society. The right has been so focused on replacing the state with markets that it has forgotten how to cultivate a trusting society

This difference between the two parties covers a wide range, and is indicative of the conservative thought of the one and the progressive thought of the other.

I joined a Republican Party that was used to losing, used to being browbeaten by the Democrats. I represent a totally different style.

The Democratic Party went far to the left, I think, and left some of us stranded on the beach, so we went to the Republican Party.

I knew if I waited long enough, the Republican Party would rock.

I don't trust liberals, I trust conservatives.

Nobody should be surprised that Republicans vote for Republican policy. Just like Democrats vote for Democrat policy.

If you're going to try to win an election, you can't be 80 percent. You can't say, I'm for what my Democratic opponent is, for but not quite so much of it.

We don't have a lot of Reagan-type leaders in our party. Remember Ronald Reagan Democrats? I want a Republican that can attract Democrats.

If Democrats were good at thinking like Republicans, they would see the light and stop being Democrats.

The Doppler Effect: When running in a primary, candidate appears farther to the left or right than he or she in fact is, but as candidate nears the general election, candidate's views appear to approach the center.

The genius of American government consists of the creative tension between conservatives on the one hand and liberals on the other hand..

Have we come to the point where the Democratic Party needs a Republican President?

We're going to have to take the best of the liberal agenda and the best of the conservative agenda and create an American agenda.

The American people will always be progressive as well as conservative.

The future belongs to Conservatives. They are younger, they are more energetic, they dominate the party caucuses, they dominate the nominating process. They are committed to ideas, not simply personal aggrandizement or title.

If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain.