George F. Will Quotes

Too many in Washington display a ruling class mentality, and congressional term limits would go a long way towards restoring the citizen-legislator ethos of the Founding Fathers.

I fundamentally believe in term limits, for Congress, presidents, and board members.

You know, you look at term limits, you poll term limits, 70, 80 percent of Republicans or Democrats are for it.

A country survives its legislation. That truth should not comfort the conservative nor depress the radical. For it means that public policy can enlarge its scope and increase its audacity, can try big experiments without trembling too much...

Politicians dare to fail publicly.

Mere law cannot reform Congress.... We must amend the Constitution to limit terms. Imagine the intellectual honesty and political courage that would be brought to bear on national problems, when men and women entering Congress knew with certainty they could not build a career in that place by currying favor with special interest groups.

Political leaders will never take risks unless the people push them to take risks.

If they won’t listen, we should limit the Politicians’ terms and send them packing..

Our message of a balanced budget amendment, term limits to end career politicians, and a real plan to keep America safe is resonating with voters.

Hoosiers sent me to Washington to help President Trump drain the swamp, and it starts with cutting out generous taxpayer-funded perks that keep career politicians in D.C.

Some major problems can be solved by our political process and our leaders. Others can be solved only when there is popular demand and insistence and politicians feel at risk of unemployment if they ignore the groundswell.

In Africa, there is a political culture of life presidencies which is no longer acceptable to the people… Sometimes leaders feel that they are indispensible to their nation.

There are not many people in politics who ever want to get close to the heat.

The great problem is how to discharge presidents who have outlived their usefulness to the country

The very existence of a bicameral legislature is itself another defense of the status quo.

I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election

To reform Congress, you have to get Congress to play along.

If I finish my term in office … and have high approval ratings, then I wasted my last years in office. That high approval rating means you don’t upset anybody. High approval rating means you’re skiing down the slope and you never fall. Well, you’re skiing the baby slope, for goodness’ sakes. Go to a steeper slope. You always want to press, and you want to tackle the issues that are unpopular, that nobody else will go after.

And I honor the man who is willing to sink Half his present repute for the freedom to think, And, when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak, Will risk t'other half for the freedom to speak.

I could persuade a millionaire on a Friday to subsidize a revolution for Saturday out of which he would make a huge profit on Sunday even though he was certain to be executed on Monday.

You cannot lead this country by being [politically] safe.

The history of Congress shows that once parliamentary tools become big enough obstacles for the majority party, they are abolished or reformed.

There was something punk rock about Bobby Kennedy not going where the pollsters said or where consultants said. He was unmoored from what was safe or easy.

I've been involved in politics for quite some time. I've held positions, and my experiences are very deep, and I think I have the capacity, the courage, and the character to institute the kinds of reforms that are so desperately needed.

We've all got to discover the courage to ask the difficult questions about the future of our party and the future of the working-class communities who need a Labour government.