Small Government Quotes

• The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Religious, Men, Issues

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• That government is best which governs least.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Freedom, Democracies Have, Government

  Civil Disobedience (1849) See Ralph Waldo Emerson 29; O'Sullivan 1; Shipley 1

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• I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Freedom, Government, Political

  Letter to Archibald Stewart, 23 Dec. 1791

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• That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Freedom, Patriotic, Government

  42 Copy quote
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  The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Strength, Wisdom, Veterans Day

  Letter to William Stephens Smith, 13 Nov. 1787

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• If you like small government you need to work hard at having a strong national defense that is not so militant. Personal liberty is the purpose of government, to protect liberty - not to run your personal life, not to run the economy, and not to pretend that we can tell the world how they ought to live.

  Ron Paul

  Running, Strong, Hard Work

  58 Copy quote

• You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending

  William J. H. Boetcker

  Strong, Men, Libertarian

  "The Industrial Decalogue" (1916). These "ten cannots" are frequently, but falsely, attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

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• I believe in small government and people taking care of themselves.

  Susan Olsen

  Believe, Government, People

  7 Copy quote

• [We are] no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.

  Woodrow Wilson

  Men, Nwo, Free Opinion

  Woodrow Wilson (2012). “The New Freedom A Call For the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People”, p.136, tredition

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• What we should be asking is not whether we need a big government or small government, but how we can create a smarter and better government.

  Barack Obama

  Government, Needs, Asking

  University of Michigan Commencement Speech, www.huffingtonpost.com. 2010.

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• Big-government proponents embrace both the power of the federal government and the idea that millions of Americans ought to be dependent on its largesse. It's time to return to our Founders' love for small government. More is not always better.

  Gary Bauer

  Government, Ideas, Return

  8 Copy quote

• Mentioning Jesus in your speech: Small government. Doing what Jesus asked: Big government.

  Stephen Colbert

  Jesus, Government, Speech

  4 Copy quote

• America's Christian conservative movement is confronted with this divide: small-government advocates who want to practice their faith independent of heavy-handed government versus big-government sympathizers who want to impose their version of 'righteousness' on others through the hammer of law.... Our movement must avoid the temptations of power and those who would twist the good intentions of Christian voters to support policies that undermine freedom and grow government.

  Dick Armey

  Christian, Independent, Government

  "Christians and Big Government - Why faith requires freedom". FreedomWorks (freedomworks.org), October 12, 2006.

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• We believe in individual initiative, personal responsibility, opportunity, freedom, small government, the Constitution. These principles, these American principles are key to getting our economy back to being successful and leading the world.

  Mitt Romney

  Believe, Responsibility, Successful

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• Beginning to dismantle the Pentagon would save $1 trillion a year - a small government proposal if ever there was one.

  Bill Ayers

  Government, Years, Proposal

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• Conservatives should question how the death penalty actually works in order to stay true to small government, reduction in wasteful spending, and respect for human life.

  Jay Sekulow

  Government, Order, Death Penalty

  44 Copy quote

• Ted Cruz is a small-government conservative.

  Mara Liasson

  Government, Conservative, Cruz

  4 Copy quote

• Look, this debate is basic: it's small government vs. big government. So how cowardly do folks like Blood and Frank Rich have to be that they can't man up and defend their love for collectivism? The only reason they scream race, is because that debate scares them. They know a racial accusation prevents dialogue, because such a harmful charge far outweighs any benefits of winning an argument.

  Greg Gutfeld

  Men, Winning, Blood

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• The Tea Party claims to want small government.

  Penn Jillette

  Party, Government, Tea

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• Isn't the whole idea behind the massive regulation and regimentation of American industry and society the notion that individuals should be forced to behave in ways defined by a small governmental elite?

  Thomas DiLorenzo

  Ideas, Regulation, Way

  6 Copy quote

• As the economy faces such difficulties, more tough questions need to be asked about what the Tories would do if elected. Their ideology of free markets and small government needs challenging. That has to be part of our job.

  Lucy Powell

  Jobs, Government, Tough Questions

  "Labour is back on the attack" by Lucy Powell, www.theguardian.com. October 24, 2008.

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• It is time for conservatives to do what they do best and insist that a wasteful, inefficient government program gets off the books. Small government and the death penalty don't go together.

  Christy Clark

  Book, Government, Together

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• In my estimation, there should always be a mixture of economic liberalism - which means small government, a great emphasis on markets - but also a certain degree of social conservatism, not to favor change unless that change is beneficial. So I describe myself as an economic liberal and a social conservative.

  John Howard

  Mean, Government, Mixtures

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• I'm a small government conservative.

  Tucker Carlson

  Government, Conservative

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• Libertarians are believers in small government who really mean it -- no excuses, no exceptions. [For Libertarians], the excesses of government are their best recruiters.

  Richard Brookhiser

  Mean, Government, Excess

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