Bob Dole Quotes

A voting record is your work product. It tells people where you stand on issues, and for better or worse it implies you're there doing what you're elected to do. It's the only litmus test available.

Thomas Edison invented a voting machine so that legislators can just press a button. It was a failure. Legislators didn’t want people to know how they had voted.

Members of Congress don’t read the bills.

All you need to know is this. You can never go wrong by voting for a bill that fails, or against a bill that passes.

No public man can be just a little crooked.

Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.

One of the things that I think you see sometimes in politics is a certain degree of caution. It's usually advised by consultants who don't want to see you march to the end of a limb.

I am not concerned about getting reelected. I can make the unpopular but necessary decision. Your focus from day one is on your legacy rather than political considerations.

At least the politicians are accountable to the voters.

The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.

If you're a politician and all you care about is staying in office, you're worried about a small group of voters in your district who vote in the primary. If you're a corporation, you need to be much more in synch with public opinion, because you're appealing to people across the spectrum. Ironically, a lot of corporations have to be far more democratic than democratically elected officials.

If we were left solely to the wordy wit of legislators in Congress for our guidance, uncorrected by the seasonal experience and the effectual complaints of the people, America would not long retain her rank among the nations.

The Senate must stop doing so much of its business in secret, behind closed doors…. A bill that affects the nation’s security has been held up for months by a secret hold and cannot see the light of day…. There is no accountability…. The person who exercises a hold ought to be identified…. Secret holds have been the bane of the United States Senate for decades. So much for sunshine in the United States Senate.

The ministry of interior may censor newspapers and ban them if they include anything that violates public security, threatens national unity, or contradicts Islam.

Members [of Congress] go back now and report on TV. And the local press doesn't have the slightest idea of what you're doing on public policy unless you get caught in a scandal.

Force members of Congress to be here four or five days a week—to be here full time as legislators.

Injecting new ideas into public debate is the supreme function of the newspaper columnist. Politicians and civil servants absolutely will not take the risk.

When someone has to go back and work for a living under laws that they passed, they'd be more careful.

Politicians dare to fail publicly.

Politicians worry about downside political risks. Generally speaking, they are risk minimizers.

A 30 second negative ad can matter more to a candidate's career than a lifetime voting record.

The members of Congress are very, very good about sensing what people are upset about.

We cover Congress only when it gets to the final vote on something, too late for the public to respond.

Members [of Congress] never make mistakes. Only the [congressional] staff make mistakes.

Don't read our lips. Read our record.