Ronald Reagan on Politics

"And I have to point out that government doesn't tax to get the money it needs, government always needs the money it gets."

"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other."

"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."

"The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much."

"You can't be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy."

"The other day, someone told me the difference between a democracy and a people's democracy. It's the same difference between a jacket and a straitjacket."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"If Fascism Ever Comes to America, It Will Come in the Name of Liberalism."

"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives."

"No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote; but a Republican bucking the giveaway trend might re-create some voters who have been staying home."

"I grew up in a town where everyone cared about one another because everyone knew one another, not as statistics in a government program but as neighbors in need. Is that nostalgic? I don't think so."

"When the chips are down and the decisions are made as to who the candidates will be, then the 11th commandment prevails and everybody goes to work, and that is: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican."

"Fascism was really the basis for the New Deal. It was Mussolini's success in Italy, with his government-directed economy, that led the early New Dealers to say "But Mussolini keeps the trains running on time."

"This is not the time for political fun and games. This is the time for a new beginning. I ask you now to put aside any feelings of frustration or helplessness about our political institutions and join me in this dramatic but responsible plan to reduce the enormous burden of Federal taxation on you and your family."