Fisher Ames Quotes

I enjoyed my stay in the Congress. Most people do not. And too many people who have been elected really don't understand the nature of government.

Remember, the Congress doesn't get as many opportunities to make an impression with the public.

How much we all suffer from lack of oversight from the government.

In every country, politics is considered to be a waste of time.

Pretty much every prime minister since I can remember has made me mad.

It is amazing to think after all that has happened in this country in the last few years, the last few decades, that so many people have this blind faith that government is our friend and therefore, so we don't need protections against it.

It is hard to feel individually responsible with respect to the invisible processes of a huge and distant government.

I think President Obama is trying to deceive the public in pretending that he was not a part of Congress that has made some decisions in the past that got us to where we are today.

Congress is full of good, decent, smart people who have devoted their lives to public service.

I think if more members of Congress would talk about what they see and what they want to do and what they want to accomplish, rather than talking about their opponent, we would begin to shape and reshape American public opinion on what the political world looks like.

I think the way things have been left after Iraq is that people won't believe the Government of the day, so they have to know that lessons have been learnt and that all political parties and people, whether they were for or against the invasion of Iraq, have learnt lessons.

The best thing about the Congress is that it is the last place where you can have face-to-face interviews and interaction with the newsmakers themselves.

As a Coalition Government, we inherited a legacy of lack of trust and confidence in political system.

How many State of the Union addresses do people remember? They don't resonate that way.

I think that politics could be a positive thing. My beef is that people focus on the personal aspect of a politician too much. They should focus on the results.

I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose interests in good government is less.

I've found that when you roll up your sleeves and join people in their daily work, they tend to open up quite a bit and let you know what they really think about the issues facing our country and what kind of job they think the government is doing.

I have long felt that it is readers and viewers of conservative media who could benefit from a more balanced discussion of what is at stake in our policy and the actions of our government.

We have a top-down government that is basically a black hole for energy and a quicksand for idealism. A generation that gets impatient when a Web page takes more than a few seconds to appear is not going to waste its time on a government that’s not able to produce real solutions.

Congress is constantly engaged in a struggle for the respect of the people.

There's an impression in the public that Congress takes care of its own.

That mysterious independent variable of political calculation, Public Opinion.

I am well aware of what three past presidents have said, but that will not be worth five cents if the people and the Congress do not support their president now.”

We are hiring too many people who are called politicians, and we are not holding them accountable…. You do not hire someone and not tell them what to do. Make a trip to Washington and see that they are doing what you want them to do.

Our political system is losing its ability to even explore alternatives …. I hope we will demand judgment from our leaders.