Rahm Emanuel Quotes

Political authorities should lead the way and not lag behind [public opinion].

You elected government officials to make decisions and it's about time they started making good ones.

Canadians want to elect good people to be their voice in Ottawa.

Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote.

We already have term limits. They’re called elections.

Bruce Rauner needs to lead, and until he does, we must fight to hold him accountable.

You have to be ready for anything. It's a good reminder about democracy. Voters can tell you to carry on, or chuck you out. You've got to be ready for both.

I'm running because Hoosiers deserve a senator who makes promises here in Indiana and then keeps them in Washington.

It's our duty in Congress to bring the voices of our communities to Washington.

We are absolutely going to make sure Paul Ryan is being held accountable to the people.

I felt like there was a real opportunity to help people understand that if you're concerned about what's happening in Washington, then you have voice. And that voice is your vote.

I think we need politicians; we need people who want to serve.

I think most people realize that our problems are our government, not me and you individually, except that we can - must have some sort of responsibility, because they're in there and they were elected, so we have to defend ourselves on those lines.

Politicians in Washington and Madison aren't hearing, aren't listening to their constituents and prioritizing getting people back to work and growing our economy.

But, you know, once you're in government, very often you need to shoulder responsibility. I hope the new Spanish government will think about this and will therefore act accordingly. I really and sincerely hope so.

Politicians must be simple and clear about how their ideas will serve the national cause. We can no longer use the complexity of today's problems as an excuse for inaction, rhyme or rhetoric that does not meet the challenges before us.

The American public should simply accept no distractions. In our democracy, it is our duty to hold our elected leaders accountable. We do it at the ballot box.

I think the American people should express their preferences, and we'll accept their choice.

As a policymaker, as a public servant, I come to Washington, D.C., and I make difficult decisions and I make difficult decisions every day. And sometimes those decisions upset people.

Democracy functions best when we have an active citizenry.

In democracy, every election is a learning process. You learn from every election, the one that you win and the one that you lose. And then you prepare for the next one.

We shall never change our political leaders until we change the people who elect them.

There are elections in which everyone knows that 'the people have spoken' but they don't always know exactly what the people have said. This November's election was different. Not only did the people speak, they spoke clearly.

Everybody has a say, everybody has a voice, because everyone that comes to the House had about 750,000 people they're representing. And you want those voices heard.

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.