Lane Kirkland Quotes

When I have to choose between voting for the people or voting for the special interests, I always stick with the special interests. They remember. The people forget.

Never in the history of American politics has there been a constituency so popular but with so little political clout as the American family.

There is a difference between being a political force, or a political apparent force or a potential force, and between a real discourse or a real argument.

The average American doesn't realize how much of the laws are written by lobbyists.

Money often determines not only who gets elected, but what gets done. Which voices do lawmakers listen to, the banks or home owners, coal companies, or asthma sufferers, the CEOs or the unemployed?

The Tea Party has an important voice in the country and now they have a voice in the U.S. Senate.

Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people.

I have had lobbyists, and I have had some very good ones. They could do anything.

There’s a real fundamental need for us. You think we have a bad system now? Without us lobbyists, just see what kind of government we would have them

I noticed that the highly organized lobbies in Washington were producing results regardless of the justice or injustice of their demand.

Those who have lobbyists are more likely to get what they want …. Those who have more money [to spend on lobbying] are more likely to prevail.

I am not in Washington as a statesman. I am there as a very well paid messenger boy doing your errands. My chief occupation is going around with a forked stick picking up little fragments of patronage for my constituents.

Politicians are becoming mouthpieces for other forces justifying the status quo.

We want political power in our country for our philosophy of life. This means we've got to get involved more and more in politics.

Rich people are powerful in wealth but few in votes.

The working people are the basis of all government, for the plain reason that they are the most numerous.

When you are not running for office, the people in the party listen to you more.

In the United States, the two-party system of the old days is seemingly still preserved. But this is only a camouflage of the real situation. In fact, the political life of the United States ... is determined by the struggle and aspirations of pressure groups.

You cannot move a piece of [energy] legislation through Congress in the year 2013 unless the American Petroleum Institute proposes it. You cannot move legislation without their consent. They are a de facto fourth branch of government.

It is no secret that Washington, D.C., is a tempest of people and institutions relentlessly seeking power over the lives of everyday Americans.

I've been really at the highest levels of American political life.

Billionaires and corporations buy and sell politicians, while citizens struggle to exercise their right to vote or hold their elected representatives to account.

The first iron rule of American politics is Follow the Money. This explains, oh, about 80 percent of what goes on in Washington.

The fundamental problem with the immigration system in America is that it serves the needs of wealthy donors, political activists and powerful, powerful politicians.

No matter who you vote for, the government stays in power