Jim Hightower Quotes

The middle of the road is for yellow lines and dead armadillos.

The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.

The issue isn't just jobs. Even slaves had jobs. The issue is wages.

Populism is not a style, it's a people's rebellion against the iron grip that big corporations have on our country - including our economy, government, media, and environment.

The corporations don't have to lobby the government anymore. They are the government.

Some people say we need a third party. I wish we had a second one.

Even a dead fish can go with the flow.

Do something. If it doesn't work, do something else. No idea is too crazy.

Like NASCAR race drivers or PGA golfers, why not require each of the [US presidential] candidates to cover their clothing, briefcases and staff with the logo patches of their corporate sponsors?

The only difference between a pigeon and the American farmer today is that a pigeon can still make a deposit on a John Deere.

Liberals want to manage the damage with government programs to take care of those who have fallen between the cracks. Populists want to fix the cracks so that people don't fall in the first place.

It may be the rooster that does all the crowing but it's the hen that delivers the goods.

So now is the time, more than ever, for those who truly value all the principles of democracy, especially including dissent, to be the most forceful in speaking up, standing up and speaking out.

When Rick Perry says I can do for America what I've done for Texas, pay attention. That's no idle threat.

Even the smallest dog can lift its leg on the tallest building.

Little ol' boy in the Panhandle told me the other day you can still make a small fortune in agriculture. Problem is, you got to start with a large one.

Reagan promised everyone a seven-course dinner. Ours turned out to be a possum and a six-pack.

America's drug war is so stupid that if you pay close attention to just how stupid it is -- it'll drive you to use drugs.

It's hard for the donkeys to win the race if they're going to carry the elephants on their backs.

America was not built by conformists, but by mutineers.

The water won't clear up until we get the hogs out of the creek.

Politics isn't about left versus right; it's about top versus bottom.

Becoming a politician is the only step down I could take from being a journalist.

Good wages are pro business, since they reduce turnover, increase morale, produce better-skilled employees, and improve productivity.

The Bible declares that on the sixth day God created man. Right then and there, God should have demanded a damage deposit.

You can't do progressive government from the inside. You have to rally those outsiders and make them a force.

It's hard to believe President George Bush gave a speech in New Orleans about disaster recovery and failed to mention the word 'farm' or the word 'rural.'

Even a little dog can piss on a big building.

If you don't speak out when it matters, when would it matter to speak out?

The real bias of the media is not to the left or to the right, but to the thin strata of economic elites at the top of our society.

This is a matter of public health. The public was sick and tired of DeLay and his corruption.

Republicans are so empty-headed, they wouldn't make a good landfill.

Politics ought to be fun. It shouldn't be just boring meetings.

When everybody does better, EVERYBODY does better.

It's an essential fight librarians are making, an age-old fight; yours is a battle for civilization. It's a fight for our country's founding values.

Organic agriculture is more about fairness and respect than it is about parts-per-billion of pesticide residues

But, as my mother used to tell me, two wrongs don't make a right. But I soon figured out that three left turns do.

Founders v. Bush brings the wisdom and eloquence of the Founding Fathers back to the people, while unmasking the fraudulent PR machine that is corrupting their words and stealing our legacy.

The [Democratic] party is a bank. It collects money and gives it to TV stations.

Banks don't commit crimes. Bankers do. And they won't ever stop if they don't have to pay for their crimes.

We've got to go to the people with bold ideas and candidates of conviction - we've got to be hotter than high school love.

If it's dangerous to talk to yourself, it's probably even dicier to listen.

You have to learn to read between the lies.

The corporation cannot be ethical, its only responsibility is to make a profit.

When I entered politics, I took the only downward turn you could take from journalism.

Some of these rich folks seem to think that everything belongs to them and they'll even get to take it with them when they die. But you know what? You don't ever see a hearse pulling a U Haul.

If ignorance goes to forty dollars a barrel, I want drilling rights to George Bush's head.

Ronald Reagan's idea of a good farm program was Hee Haw.

Well, I've been in the political arena all of my life, and 10 years of that as a candidate and elected official, and that's about enough.

There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.