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Those Who Seek Absolute Power, Even Though They Seek It To Do What They Regard As Good, Are Simply Demanding The Right To Enforce Their Own Version Of Heaven On Earth. And Let Me Remind You, They Are The Very Ones Who Always Create The Most Hellish Tyrannies. Absolute Power Does Corrupt, And Those Who Seek It Must Be Suspect And Must Be Opposed.

-Barry Goldwater

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Those Who Seek Absolute

Barry Goldwater

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Those Who Seek Absolute Power, Even Though They Seek It To Do What They Regard As Good, Are Simply Demanding The Right To Enforce Their Own Version Of Heaven On Earth. And Let Me Remind You, They Are The Very Ones Who Always Create The Most Hellish Tyrannies. Absolute Power Does Corrupt, And Those Who Seek It Must Be Suspect And Must Be Opposed.

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I Thought Of Something My Old Coach At Staunton Had Often Said: 'we Win Some, We Lose Some, And Some Get Rained Out; But We Always Suit Up.'

My Mother Took Us To Services At The Episcopal Church. Yet She Always Said That God Was Not Just Inside The Four Walls Of A House Of Worship, But Everywhere - In The Rising Sun Over Camelback Mountain In Phoenix, A Splash Of Water Along The Nearby Salt Or Verde Rivers, Or Clouds Driving Over The Estrella Mountains, South Of Downtown. I've Always Thought Of God In Those Terms.

The Only Summit Meeting That Can Succeed Is One That Does Not Take Place.

Throughout History Civilian Populations And Political Rulers Have Talked Of Peace. We Have Never Been Free Of War. The Soldier, Whose Profession Is War, Understands That Peace Must Be Enforced By Superior Military Might. The Certainty Of Defeat Is The Only Effective Deterrent We Can Use To Maintain Peace. Furthermore, We Can Be Strong Without Being Aggressive.

I Say That When You Elect A President You Want A Man To Manage The Legitimate Business Of Your Government. The Government That Is Big Enough To Give You Everything You Want Is Big Enough To Take It Away.

On Religious Issues There Can Be Little Or No Compromise. There Is No Position On Which People Are So Immovable As Their Religious Beliefs. There Is No More Powerful Ally One Can Claim In A Debate Than Jesus Christ, Or God, Or Allah, Or Whatever One Calls This Supreme Being. But Like Any Powerful Weapon, The Use Of God's Name On One's Behalf Should Be Used Sparingly.

Today Neither Of Our Two Parties Maintains A Meaningful Commitment To The Principle Of States' Rights. The 10th Amendment Is Not A 'general Assumption' But A Rule Of Law. States Rights Mean That States Have A Right To Act Or Not To Act, As They See Fit, In Areas Reserved To Them.

Extremism In Defense Of Liberty Is No Vice And Moderation In The Pursuit Of Justice Is No Virtue.

Extremism In The Defense Of Liberty Is No Vice. And Moderation In The Pursuit Of Justice Is No Virtue.

Unlimited Campaign Spending Eats At The Heart Of The Democratic Process.

It Is Safe To Say That The U.s. Congress Is Now Run By Paid Staffers, Not By People Elected To Do The Job.

I'd Rather See A Woman Elected...they Understand They Can't Spend More Money Than The Old Man Brings Home.

Politics [is] The Art Of Achieving The Maximum Amount Of Freedom For Individuals That Is Consistent With The Maintenance Of Social Order.

Well, Once You've Been In The Canyon And Once You've Sort Of Fallen In Love With It, It Never Ends...it's Always Been A Fascinating Place To Me, In Fact I've Often Said That If I Ever Had A Mistress It Would Be The Grand Canyon.

I Think Any Man In Business Would Be Foolish To Fool Around With His Secretary. If It's Somebody Else's Secretary, Fine.

One Way We Exercise Political Freedom Is To Vote For The Candidate Of Our Choice. Another Way Is To Use Our Money To Try To Persuade Other Voters To Make A Similar Choice - That Is, To Contribute To Our Candidate's Campaign. If Either Of These Freedoms Is Violated, The Consequences Are Very Grave Not Only For The Individual Voter And Contributor, But For The Society Whose Free Political Processes Depend On A Wide Distribution Of Political Power.

Can Any Of Us Refute The Wisdom Of Madison And The Other Framers? Can Anyone Look At The Carnage In Iran, The Bloodshed In Northern Ireland Or The Bombs Bursting In Lebanon And Yet Question The Dangers Of Injecting Religious Issues Into The Affairs Of State?

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...this Bill Will Require The Creation Of A Federal Police Force Of Mammoth Proportions. It Also Bids Fair To Result In The Development Of An 'informer' Psychology In Great Areas Of Our National Life-neighbors Spying On Neighbors, Workers Spying On Workers, Business Spying On Businessmen-were Those Who Would Harass Their Fellow Citizens For Selfish And Narrow Purposes Will Have Ample Inducement To Do So. These, The Federal Police Force An 'informer' Psychology, Are The Hallmarks Of The Police State And Landmarks In The Destruction Of A Free Society.

There's No Greater Service To This Country Than The Defense Of Its Freedom.

Any Pilot Can Describe The Mechanics Of Flying. What It Can Do For The Spirit Of Man Is Beyond Description.

And If I Should Later Be Attacked For Neglecting My Constituents' "interests," I Shall Reply That I Was Informed That Their Main Interest Is Liberty And That In That Cause I Am Doing The Very Best I Can.

I'm The Most Underdog Underdog There Is.

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Forced Integration Is Just As Wrong As Forced Segregation.

It's Political Daddyism And It's As Old As Demagogues And Despotism.

The Time Has Come To Recognize The United Nations For The Anti-american, Anti-freedom Organization That It Has Become. The Time Has Come For Us To Cut Off All Financial Help, Withdraw As A Member, And Ask The United Nations To Find Headquarters Location Outside The United States That Is

I Found Mr. Carter's Actions Toward The Republic Of China So Incredible That They Defy Description By Socially Acceptable Expletives. If December 7, 1941 Was A "day Of Infamy" Then December 15, 1978 Ranks Right Up There In International Betrayal...the Pathetic Thing About This Whole Mess, However, Is That It Is Typical Of This Administration's Conduct Of Foreign Affairs, Which Could Be Kindly Described As Being Riddled By Ineptitude And Hypocrisy.

We Now Have A President Who Tries To Save Money By Turning Off Lights In The White House, Even As He Heads Toward A Staggering Addition To The National Debt. "l.b.j." Should Stand For Light Bulb Johnson.

Conservatism Therefore Looks Upon The Enhancement Of Man's Spiritual Nature As The Primary Concern Of Political Philosophy. Liberals, On The Other Hand,— In The Name Of A Concern For “human Beings”— Regard The Satisfaction Of Economic Wants As The Dominant Mission Of Society.

I Do Not Undertake To Promote Welfare, For I Propose To Extend Freedom. My Aim Is Not To Pass Laws But To Repeal Them.

The Oldest Philosophy In The World Is Conservatism, And I Go Clear Back To The First Greeks. ... When You Say 'radical Right' Today, I Think Of These Moneymaking Ventures By Fellows Like Pat Robertson And Others Who Are Trying To Take The Republican Party Away From The Republican Party, And Make A Religious Organization Out Of It. If That Ever Happens, Kiss Politics Goodbye.

Government Should Stay The Hell Out Of People's Business.

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Self Confidence

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Electrical Power

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You Don't Need To Be Straight To Fight And Die For Your Country. You Just Need To Shoot Straight.

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Having Spent 37 Years Of My Life In The Military As A Reservist, And Never Having Met A Gay In All Of That Time, And Never Having Even Talked About It In All Those Years, I Just Thought, Why The Hell Shouldn't They Serve? They're American Citizens. As Long As They're Not Doing Things That Are Harmful To Anyone Else... So I Came Out For It.

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I Have The Unmitigated Gall To Think That I Could Lead Men Anywhere, Business, Politics Or Combat.

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We Shall Return To Proven Ways - Not Because They Are Old, But Because They Are True.

Hubert Humphrey Talks So Fast That Listening To Him Is Like Trying To Read Playboy Magazine With Your Wife Turning The Pages.

You Don't Have To Be Straight To Be In The Military; You Just Have To Be Able To Shoot Straight.

When Fraternities Are Not Allowed, Communism Flourishes. Young Men Who Are Inexperienced But Have Faith Are More Useful Than Older, Experienced Men Without Faith. The Fraternity System Is A Bastion Of American Strength.

We Have Enough Trouble With Women Without Giving Them M16 Rifles.

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World Government

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A Woman Has A Right To An Abortion. That's A Decision That's Up To The Pregnant Woman, Not Up To The Pope Or Some Do-gooders Or The Religious Right.

My Aim Is Not To Pass Laws, But To Repeal Them.

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I Think Every Good Christian Ought To Kick Falwell Right In The Ass.

To Disagree, One Doesn't Have To Be Disagreeable.

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If The Conservative Is Less Anxious Than His Liberal Brethren To Increase Social Security ‘benefits,’ It Is Because He Is More Anxious Than His Liberal Brethren That People Be Free Throughout Their Lives To Spend Their Earnings When And As They See Fit

By Maintaining The Separation Of Church And State, The United States Has Avoided The Intolerance Which Has So Divided The Rest Of The World With Religious Wars.

When I'm Not A Politician, I'll Be Dead.

American Business Has Just Forgotten The Importance Of Selling.

Trade Unions Infringe Upon The Property Rights Of Company Owners.

If You Don't Mind Smelling Like Peanut Butter For Two Or Three Days, Peanut Butter Is Darn Good Shaving Cream.

Women Are Hard Enough To Handle Now Without Giving Them A Gun!

Some Programs Have Been Theatrical Masterpieces, But All We're Seeing Is The Negative Side Of Nuclear War.

I Fear Washington And Centralized Government More Than I Do Moscow.

Centralized Government

Without The National Federation Of Republican Women, There Would Be No Republican Party.

Where Is The Politician Who Has Not Promised To Fight To The Death For Lower Taxes- And Who Has Not Proceeded To Vote For The Very Spending Projects That Make Tax Cuts Impossible?

While I Am A Great Believer In The Free Enterprise System And All That It Entails, I Am An Even Stronger Believer In The Right Of Our People To Live In A Clean And Pollution-free Environment.

It Is True That I Was Denied Access To A Facility At Wright-patterson Air Force Base In Dayton, Ohio, Because I Never Got In. I Can't Tell You What Was Inside. We Both Know About The Rumors Concerning A Captured Ufo And Crew Members. I Have Never Seen What I Would Call A Ufo, But I Have Intelligent Friends Who Have.

I Think A Current Understanding About Urban Behavior Tells Us That It's Important That People Get Out And Be Able To Get Away From The Concrete Jungles And The Dense Environment Where They Live For Their Own Mental Well-being. If They Don't Do This, The Costs In Human Loss And Human Sickness Will Be Far Greater Than What We Would Be Expending For These Kinds Of Releases And Open Spaces.

Concrete Jungle

After One Of His [hubert Humphrey] Long-winded Harangues I Suggested He Had Probably Been Vaccinated With A Phonograph Needle. He Responded By Saying That I Would Have Been A Great Success In The Movies Working For Eighteenth Century-fox.

A Man From The West Will Fight Over Three Things: Water, Women And Gold, And Usually In That Order.

History Has To Judge Every Man Who Served. I Don't Know How They're Going To Treat Me. I May Be The Worst S.o.b. That Ever Came Down The Pike. But I Won't Lose Any Sleep Over It. I Just Like To Be Remembered As An Honest Person Who Tried.

The Big Thing Is To Make This Country - Quit Discriminating Against People Just Because They're Gay. You Don't Have To Agree With It, But They Have A Constitutional Right To Be Gay. They're American Citizens.

We Cannot Allow The American Flag To Be Shot At Anywhere On Earth If We Are To Retain Our Respect And Prestige

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I Will Offer A Choice, Not An Echo.

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The Effect Of Welfarism On Freedom Will Be Felt Later On - After Its Beneficiaries Have Become Its Victims, After Dependence On Government Has Turned Into Bondage And It Is Too Late To Unlock The Jail.

At This Sunset Hour, The Canyon Walls Are Indescribably Beautiful And I Fear The Magic Of Photography Can Never Record What I See Now. The Tall Spires Near The Canyon's Top And The Walls Of The Canyon Up There Look As If God Had Reached Out And Swiped A Brush Of Golden Paint Across Them, Gilding These Rocks In The Bright Glow Of The Setting Sun.

It Is Impossible To Maintain Freedom And Order And Justice Without Religious And Moral Sanctions.

The Best Thing Clinton Could Do — I Think I Wrote Him A Letter About This, But I'm Not Sure — Is To Shut Up. Every Time I Turn That Radio On, There's Clinton, Making A Speech. And He Makes Speeches On A Subject He Doesn't Know Anything About. He Has No Discipline.

I Made An Effort To Find Out What Was In The Building At Wright Patterson Air Force Base Where The Information Is Stored That Has Been Collected By The Air Force, And I Was Understandably Denied This Request. It Is Still Classified Above Top Secret.

You've Got To Forget About This Civilian. Whenever You Drop Bombs, You're Going To Hit Civilians.

Everyone Knows That Gays Have Served Honorably In The Military Since At Least The Time Of Julius Caesar.

The Constitution Is An Instrument, Above All, For Limiting The Functions Of Government.

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I Won't Say That The Papers Misquote Me, But I Sometimes Wonder Where Christianity Would Be Today If Some Of Those Reporters Had Been Matthew, Mark, Luke And John.

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