To say America can have strong leadership without strong character is to say we can get water without the wet. J. C. Watts More Quotes by J. C. Watts More Quotes From J. C. Watts I'm not one that believes that affirmative action should be based on one's skin color or one's gender, I think it should be done based on one's need, because I think if you are from a poor white community, I think that poor white kid needs a scholarship just as badly as a poor black kid. J. C. Watts believe kids thinking In 1989 when I switched from Democrat to Republican, with God as my witness, not one thing changed about what I believed about one man and one woman in a marriage or about diversity of color. That's a good thing. J. C. Watts diversity color men In 2008, as a matter of fact, I had people accusing me of being a Senator Obama supporter because I wouldn't slam him. I said, 'Well, consider the fact that I voted for impeachment for President Clinton, but it wasn't a personal vote. I voted based on the facts and the law and the Constitution and what we were dealing with.' J. C. Watts obama-supporters accusing-me law For longer than I've been involved in the political process, the Republican establishment has claimed to want to provide an alternative for the black community, yet party elite refuse to show up for the game. J. C. Watts community party games Consider in Washington, around the country today we are talking about balanced budgets, paying down our national debt, getting the economy going, defending ourselves, activist judges. Newt Gingrich did all those things when he was speaker. We got tax relief. We got balanced budgets. We got, you know, job creation. We paid down our national debt. J. C. Watts talking jobs country You always hear 'black Republican,' but you never hear 'white Democrat.' We've got to get beyond the labels and stereotypes. Other people have hang-ups about it. I don't. J. C. Watts black white people My work in the House of Representatives, at this time in my life, is completed. It is time to return home. J. C. Watts return house home I would caution all of us or I would remind all of us that any candidate that we support, they are going to be flawed. J. C. Watts caution flawed support Affirmative action is a little like the professional football draft. The NFL awards its No. 1 draft choices to the lowest-ranked team in the league. It doesn't do this out of compassion or guilt. It's done for mutual survival. They understand that a league can only be as strong as its weakest team. J. C. Watts team strong football Education is a bipartisan issue that concern all communities of color and should be first, last and always about the student learning. J. C. Watts issues community color If a 25-year old can't read and write and he or she isn't gaining marketable skills, it doesn't matter if a Republican or a Democrat is in the White House. His or her future will be bleak. J. C. Watts skills writing years Americans are hungry for a discussion on policy solutions to the problems in their communities that work. J. C. Watts hungry community problem Too many Americans live by Republican principles of faith, family, hope and opportunity, but vote for Democrats out of sheer habit. J. C. Watts vote principles opportunity One of the Republicans' major products is dream making. People are dying to get into this country... not out of it. J. C. Watts dream country people Republicans think that the NAACP is the only voice in the black community. It is a voice in the black community. But it's not the only voice. J. C. Watts voice community thinking Like any group that has endured much, African Americans have created a strong and mutually reinforcing sense of group identity. That's not a bad thing in and of itself. J. C. Watts african-american strong identity I embrace my blackness, just as I do my conservatism and my Christianity, but I don't want to be defined or pigeonholed by any one of the many elements that make up my character. J. C. Watts elements want character For the past 30 years our nation’s spent $5 trillion trying to erase poverty, and the result, as you know, is that we didn’t get rid of it at all. In fact, we spread it. We destroyed the self-esteem of millions of people, grinding them down in a welfare system that penalizes moms for wanting to marry the father of their children, and penalizes moms for wanting to save money. Friends, that’s not right. J. C. Watts Too often when we talk about racial healing, we make the old assumption that government can heal the racial divide. … Republicans and Democrats – red, yellow, black and white – have to understand that we must individually, all of us, accept our share of responsibility. … It does not happen by dividing us into racial groups. It does not happen by trying to turn rich against poor or by using the politics of fear. It does not happen by reducing our values to the lowest common denominator. And friends, it does not happen by asking Americans to accept what’s immoral and wrong in the name of tolerance. J. C. Watts I'm not driven to get back into politics. It's not on my top five things to do before I die, but saying that, I may be in politics in the next year or the next ten years. I've been on the front line for 12 years, four in state government, eight on the national level. J. C. Watts saying die politics government
