If the need for comprehensive campaign finance reform was not already clear, the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United permitting unlimited corporate and union spending in campaigns certainly made it so in 2010. Alan K. Simpson More Quotes by Alan K. Simpson More Quotes From Alan K. Simpson If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. Alan K. Simpson honesty inspiration integrity In your country club, your church, and business, about fifteen percent of the people are screwballs, lightweights, and boobs, and you would not want those people unrepresented in Congress. Alan K. Simpson church country people We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party. Alan K. Simpson party stupid country Any education that matters is liberal. All the saving truths, all the healing graces that distinguish a good education from a bad one or a full education from a half empty one are contained in that word. Alan K. Simpson grace healing education Those who travel the high road of humility are not troubled by heavy traffic. Alan K. Simpson traffic heavy humility I consider abortion to be a deeply personal and intimate issue for women and I don't believe male legislators should even vote on the issue. Alan K. Simpson abortion issues believe An educated man is thoroughly inoculated against humbug, thinks for himself and tries to give his thoughts, in speech or on paper, some style. Alan K. Simpson education men thinking There is no "slippery slope" toward loss of liberty, only a long staircase where each step down must first be tolerated by the American people and their leaders. Alan K. Simpson freedom loss long It is a travesty, in my mind, for the state and local governments on the one hand to expect the Federal government to reimburse them for costs attributable to illegal immigrants, when on the other hand the State and local governments prohibit their own law enforcement and other officials from cooperating with the Immigration and Naturalization Service to locate or apprehend or expel illegal aliens. Alan K. Simpson government law hands If you torture statistics long enough, they'll eventually confess the truth Alan K. Simpson statistics inspirational long Every time one of us starts talking about more effective immigration controls, somebody else throws up the Statue of Liberty, how we're a nation of immigrants and all of that. The debate takes on tinges of racism, emotion. Alan K. Simpson liberty racism talking He's a million rubber bands in his resilience. Alan K. Simpson rubber moving-on resilience Now it's just sharp elbows, and instead of having a caucus where you sit down and say, 'What are you doing for your country?' you sit figuring out how to screw the other side. Alan K. Simpson down-and elbows country I have had the rich satisfaction of knowing and working with many openly gay and lesbian Americans, and I have come to realize that "gay" is an artificial category when it comes to measuring a man or woman's on-the-job performance or commitment to shared goals. It says little about the person. Our differences and prejudices pale next to our historic challenge. Alan K. Simpson gay jobs commitment Grandchildren now don't write a thank you for the Christmas presents. They are walking on their pants with their cap on backward, listening to the Enema Man and Snoopy, Snoopy Poop Dog. Alan K. Simpson dog writing thank-you It doesn't matter is you call it 'Obama-care' or 'Elvis Presley care' or 'I-don't-care care.' It cannot sustain itself in its present form. Alan K. Simpson care health matter The word liberal distinguishes whatever nourishes the mind and spirit from the training which is merely practical or professional or from the trivialities which are no training at all. Alan K. Simpson training spirit mind So let us take our fair share of the true refugees and act responsible as a government in providing for their necessary expenses. Let us stop skewing the whole process by taking some folks who are not truly refugees in order simply to meet our foreign policy needs or domestic policy demands. There has to be a better way to meet those needs and demands than we are doing now. I think it is embarrassing to all of us who truly know the mission of the Refugee Act. Alan K. Simpson government order thinking Reagan didn't put anything off the table, if he felt it was for the good of the American people to tweak the tax system. Alan K. Simpson taxes tables people A society like ours, which professes no one religion and has allowed all religions to decay, which indulges freedom to the point of license and individualism to the point of anarchy, needs all the support that responsible, cultivated homes can furnish. I hope your generation will provide a firmer shelter for civilized standards. Alan K. Simpson support home needs
