Old Fogey's Quotes for Friday

"Our candidates have to get to a point where they don't allow other people to define them as either people or as political leaders. "
Bill Clinton
New World, New Media
[African Americans have long recognized the power of language to circumscribe and limit opportunities. They considered the power to define themselves crucial and fought hard for that right. Democrats need to learn the same lesson.]

"I'm going to think twice. . . . I'm not going to vote party line as much as to vote issues."
Lynn Sunde, an evangelical Christian
GOP's Hold on Evangelicals Weakening
[Finally, increasing numbers of evangelicals are concluding that unnessary war, enriching the rich, cutting funds for those most in need, and despoiling the earth are not religious values.]

"I assure you, in two or three months, if this thing hasn't come to fruition and if this level of violence is not under control and this government able to function, I think it's a responsibility of our government internally to determine: Is there a change of course that we should take? And I wouldn't take off the table any option at this time."
Sen. John Warner, Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee
Warner Downbeat After Iraq Trip
[Does that include "cut and run?" I wonder what it will be called once Republicans endorse it]

"The people who want to see this thing blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros."
Dennis Hastert, Republican Speaker of the House
Inquiry To Look At House, Not Foley
[Well, that group also might include the parents of former and present pages, if not most parents of teenagers]

“This generation is not about church. They always say, ‘We take our faith outside the four walls.’"
Lauren Sandler, author of “Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement"
Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
[Perhaps this is an indictment of organized religion's failure to confront issues of economic justice and the immorality of unnessary war]

"The last time the deficit was under control was under the Democrats.''
Meredith McGehee, policy director at The Campaign Legal Center, regarding the shift of Wall Street political donations from the Republicans to the Democrats
Wall Street's Political Cash Favors Democrats
[Finally, the big guys are learning that getting everything they want may not be such a good thing]

"Oh, thank God. Send me that photo, I might need it someday."
Mark Foley, regarding a picture of a female page on his lap during a party
Path Is Risky for Gay GOP Politicians
[We have reached a truly deplorable state when being gay is a bigger 'crime' than exploiting young people from a position of power]

"Thanks a lot, Mark. You weren't any help to us when you were in the closet, and you've really hurt us now. It leaves the impression that we're all predators."
David Catania, who serves on the District of Columbia city council, regarding Foley
Path Is Risky for Gay GOP Politicians
[How can the delusion that links homosexuality to pedophilia continue in the face of reality and statistics proving otherwise? Why must people always find some group to hate?]