Debate Quotes - Page 20

• Are we allowed to sing? I imagine that at times, it might improve the tone of the debate.

  Jack Layton

  Might, Tone, Imagine

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• Let's leave behind the predictable and stale debate between liberals and conservatives. Let's take the resources that we have, and prioritize, and manage, and focus our energy on just doing things that count - on real results.

  Phil Bredesen

  Real, Focus, Energy

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• We must learn to outgrow our egos in exchange for constructive dialogue rather than debate.  In addition, we must be capable of stating problems and proposing solutions clearly and succinctly, without distortion of meaning or misunderstanding, even when these solutions are radically opposed to accepted norms.

  Jacque Fresco

  Ego, Problem, Accepted

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• There was endless controversy as to whether the acts of the New Deal did actually move recovery or retard it, and nothing final could ever come of that bitter debate because it is forever impossible to prove what might have happened in place of what did.

  Garet Garrett

  Moving, Recovery, Forever

  Garet Garrett (1944). “The Revolution was”

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• We need to punch back against the extremes of both the left and the right and define the terms of the debate ourselves.

  John Avlon

  Needs, Term, Extremes

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• Godwin's law states that the longer any online debate goes on, the likelier it is that someone will play the Nazi card. It's the rhetorical equivalent of going nuclear and stupid at the same time.

  John Avlon

  Stupid, Law, Play

  John Avlon (2014). “Wingnuts: Extremism in the Age of Obama”, p.59, Beast Books

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• By in large in this country the issue of gay rights and equality should be past the point of debate. Really, there should be no debate anymore.

  Scott Fujita

  Country, Gay, Past

  "“Why I Support the National Equality March”: NFL’s Scott Fujita Speaks Out for Gay Rights". Interview with Dave Zirin, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 18, 2010.

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• If the pro abortionists were not in control of the press, I am convinced that not only would the debate on abortion be over by now (have we really even had a national debate?), but the Pro-Life side would be victorious because we would have seen the pictures every night on television of what is taking place behind the doors of the abortion clinics and hospitals.

  Cal Thomas

  Night, Doors, Pro Life

  Cal Thomas (1990). “Uncommon Sense: A Layman's Briefing Book on the Issues”, Wolgemuth & Hyatt Pub

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• As you look around the country there are still a significant number of states where their whole school debate is over school funding and we've been focused on the quality debate for most of the '90s.

  John Engler

  Country, School, Numbers

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• What may begin as a temporary method to circumvent reasoned discussion and debate for the sake of a prized political goal may very well end up permanently undermining the trust required for its existence.

  Jason Stanley

  Goal, Political, Sake

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• While people are free to draw different conclusions from the facts, there should be no debate over whether the American public is entitled to have all of the facts.

  Trey Gowdy

  People, Different, Facts

  "Rep. Gowdy named to lead Benghazi select committee". www.foxnews.com. May 5, 2014.

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• Immigration is everyone’s business: it is one of the most important national issues. The idea that it is too dangerous to be debated is a mockery of democracy. It is too important not to debate.

  Geoffrey Blainey

  Ideas, Issues, Democracy

  "All for Australia". Book by Geoffrey Blainey, 1984.

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• It is extremely important that individuals in the state of California do not own assault weapons. I mean that is just so crystal clear, there is no debate, no discussion.

  Leland Yee

  Mean, Assault Weapons, California

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• It is my sincere hope that Christopher Bryson's apparently thorough and comprehensive perusal of the scientific literature on the biological actions of fluoride and the ensuing debates through the years will receive the attention it deserves and that its implications will be seriously considered.

  Arvid Carlsson

  Years, Literature, Attention

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• Upon the Constitution, upon the pre-existing legal rights of the People, as understood in this country and in England, I have argued that this House is bound to revive the Petition under debate.

  Caleb Cushing

  Country, Rights, People

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• Unequal Democracy is the sort of book to which every political scientist should aspire--it is methodologically rigorous, conceptually serious, and above all, it addresses urgent concerns of our fellow citizens. As Bartels shows, much of what we think we know about the politics of economic inequality is dead wrong. Bartels's perplexing and often unexpected discoveries should help refocus the gathering public debate about inequality and what to do about it.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Book, Thinking, Economic Inequality

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• The best society, the best human existence, arrives when humans most closely determine the truth, and act on the truth, and separate it from superstition, falsity, or misinformation. And there is no better system for determining the truth than free speech: Testing the validity of an idea in the waters of public discussion and debate.

  Dave Rodgers

  Truth, Ideas, Water

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• So when you are faced with a decision on the euro, it is not surprising that many people are confused. They still try to squeeze the euro debate into the old language. But deep down it is a matter of deciding where one's future lies. It is a matter of political will and courage.

  Romano Prodi

  Confused, Lying, Political Will

  "UK-U.S. ties puzzling, says Prodi". www.cnn.com. April 29, 2002.

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• Choice of evils debates always produce extremism - people choose what they hope is the lesser evil, then call it good and demonize the other choice. It will be a challenge for your generation to synthesize - to move beyond Us versus Them, to We.

  Margaret Atwood

  Inspirational, Graduation, Moving

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• We've got the science, we've had the debate. The moral imperative is on the table. Great creativity is needed to take it all, make it simple and sharp. To make it connect. To make it make people want to act.

  Andy Hobsbawm

  Creativity, Simple, People

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• Eisenhower had run the Army; he knew all the ways decision making can go off the rails, and insisted on collective debate precisely to prevent senior officials from freelancing, or putting their departmental interests first. For all the formal machinery, Eisenhower was very literally the commander in chief, making the key decisions himself and monitoring closely how they were carried out. Even years after D-Day, when critics needled him for not being on the front lines with the invading forces, he retorted, “I planned it and took responsibility for it. Did you want me to unload a truck?

  Nancy Gibbs

  Senior, Running, Responsibility

  Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy (2012). “The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity”, p.118, Simon and Schuster

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• You must get courageous men, men of strong views and let them debate and argue with each other.

  Nancy Gibbs

  Strong, Men, Views

  Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy (2012). “The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity”, p.158, Simon and Schuster

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• I think in Singapore, we stand a chance of making the one-man-one-vote system work. With amendments as we have done, you know, like GRCs.. We need to make it work. And I believe with pragmatic adjustments, given these favourable conditions, we can have more open debate.

  Lee Kuan Yew

  Believe, Men, Thinking

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• Questions of absolute good and evil are much better not opened to public debate these days, when so few people are sure of their absolutes

  Sidney Howard

  People, Evil, These Days

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• To pass to the deluge, and beyond it, and to come to close quarters with our proper division, the origin of Romance itself is a very debatable subject, or rather it is a subject which the wiser mind will hardly care to debate much.

  George Saintsbury

  Romance, Mind, Division

  George Saintsbury (2012). “The English Novel”, p.13, tredition

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