P. J. ORourke Quotes on Government (11 Quotes)

Government proposes, bureaucracy disposes. And the bureaucracy must dispose of government proposals by dumping them on us.

Whatever it is that the government does, sensible Americans would prefer that the government does it to somebody else. This is the idea behind foreign policy.

The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.

Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy, the whores are us.

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.

Social Security is a government program with a constituency made up of the old, the near old and those who hope or fear to grow old. After 215 years of trying, we have finally discovered a special interest that includes 100 percent of the population. Now we can vote ourselves rich.

Feeling good about government is like looking on the bright side of any catastrophe. When you quit looking on the bright side, the catastrophe is still there.

If government were a product, selling it would be illegal.

The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it.

The government is huge, stupid, greedy and makes nosy, officious and dangerous intrusions into the smallest corners of life this much we can stand. But the real problem is that government is boring. We could cure or mitigate the other ills Washington visits on us if we could only bring ourselves to pay attention to Washington itself. But we cannot.

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.