The 5 Most Profound Political Quotes Of The Last 5 Years

Nancy Pelosi’s shameful utterance about Obamacare has become the standard in America over the last few years. Enormous bills are put together in secret; the public is deliberately misled about what the legislation does; politicians don’t even bother to read what they’re voting on and then it takes years for the courts to finish ruling on what the hundreds of pages of tortured legalisms actually mean. That’s no way to run a country and it’s no wonder that both politicians and the law itself are increasingly held in contempt if that’s the best we can do.

4) “The real story is that our social safety net was supposed to be like one of those, ‘Take a Penny, Leave a Penny’ tills that depend on the honor and neighborliness of a community. And we don’t have that community. What we have is a fragmented mess of givers and takers who are not the same people.” — Daniel Greenfield

As the welfare, food stamp and disability rolls seem to be growing ever larger, the demonization of successful Americans seems to grow ever more shrill. This has led to Americans feeling less connected to each other as the people who work hard, play by the rules and pay their taxes are being treated like cash cows by those who are coasting along on their efforts. This is often cast as a battle between “the haves” and “the have nots,” but it could just as fairly be called a battle between the “makers” and “takers.” The real shame is not so much that both groups exist, it’s the sense that the safety net has become a hammock that tens of millions of Americans seem intent on resting upon for the foreseeable future with the full support and cooperation of many of America’s politicians.

3) “Compromise is very difficult in a political environment in which a deal is not a deal. Whether the question is trading robust immigration enforcement for an amnesty benefiting those illegals already present in the country or trading tax increases for spending cuts according to some agreed-upon ratio, the main obstacle is not ideology or partisan self-interest, but the belief – a well-justified belief – that cutting a long-term deal is pointless, because such deals will not stand.” — Kevin Williamson

During the Clinton years, the Democrats so effectively argued that morals don’t matter for politicians that they changed the face of politics. Today, honor means nothing in D.C., no one’s word is his bond and every deal lasts only until the other side is able to get away with changing it. If there is no honor among the thieves in D.C., then the only thing that matters is what happens right now; medium term or long-term deals are impossible. Effectively running a republic of 300 million plus people on nothing but short term deals is impossible and it’s easy to see evidence of that in how poorly our government functions.

2) ”I think the problem with the Right…is…they don’t like blood in the water. I mean that in a figurative sense. They don’t like shaking things up. They’re afraid to be effective because to be effective is to be hated.” -- James O'Keefe

Ever wonder why many Republicans are unwilling to stand up, speak out or fight back against the Left? It’s because any effective Republican politician, talent or tactic is savagely attacked by the Democrats and the mainstream media. You start hurting the Left and you’ll be called “racist;” you’ll be sued; Saturday Night Live will do skits mocking you; hundreds of liberal trolls will attack you on Twitter and the mainstream media will “all agree” you’re wrong, awful and stupid. You want to be much safer? Keep your head down, mumble some boiler plate, and don’t take any big stands against the Left. Then, liberals still won’t like you, but they’ll be too busy trying to eviscerate the Ted Cruzs, Ronald Reagans, Sarah Palins, James O’Keefes and Andrew Breitbarts of the world to bother with some neutered Republican who’s no real threat to them. This is the sad state that most of the Republicans in Congress live in from day to day -- keeping their heads down, cringing like scared dogs, hoping not to make enough of a difference for conservatives that they end up in the spotlight.

1) “Politics is downstream from culture.” -- Andrew Breitbart

Whenever someone tells you social issues don’t matter, don’t forget that the culture shapes the electorate that votes for the politicians. Who’s more likely to vote Republican? Someone from a pro-life, Christian culture where he opposes gay marriage, hates illegal drugs and believes in working for everything he gets or a person from a secular, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage culture where he gets high every day and thinks it’s fine to live on the dole? Who’s more likely to vote Republican, the guy who loves Duck Dynasty and American Sniper or the woman who can’t get enough of The View and Thelma and Louise? If conservatives completely cede the culture to the Left, we won’t just lose the culture; we’ll eventually lose on defense, fiscal issues, the Constitution and everything else that matters.