People that had the guts to put their loyalty to the Constitution ahead of their loyalty to their political party were citizen legislators.

All change starts with a distant rumble at the grassroots level.

The vast amount of waste and sheer stupidity in government - from the Pentagon to the Food and Drug Administration - could fill committee agendas for years.

An easily accessible and transparent database of contract information will bring sunshine into the confusing and sometimes shadowy practice of government contracting.

One poll showed that Americans have a higher opinion of witches, the IRS and hemorrhoids than Congress

The longer a politician bears power, the more he is controlled by that power.

When I came to Washington, I was troubled to observe so many similarities between the behaviors of drug-addicted patients and my political colleagues. In Washington power is like morphine.

Careerism: the self-centered philosophy of governing to win the next election above all else.

Everybody is gonna die from something. And so the deal is how to use each day to move things forward for both you and the people you love and the country you love.

The earmark favor factory needs to be boarded up and demolished, not turned over to new management that may or may not have a better eye for earmarks with 'merit.'

I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for our children and grandchildren.

To accept a favor from a friend is to confer one.

I always want to be a messenger, a person that, you know, that's not afraid to pass on wisdom.

At other times it feels like being mildly drunk, or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find it hard to take in what anyone says.

The spirit of rebellion is present in every great city, and the great task of wise government is to keep it dormant, for if it wakes it is a torrent which no dam can hold back.

Apparently, on New Texas, killing a politician was not malum in se, and was mallum prohibitorum only to the extent that what happened to the politician was in excess of what he deserved.

Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane.

I was on the verge of jumping into one of those holes in life out of which we emerge a bit tattered and bloody, though we remain sure nonetheless that we had to make the jump.

Judge not others unless you're prepared to be judged!

Stripping away the irrational, the illogical, and the impossible, I am left with atheism. I can live with that.

When a manager asks for hard data, that's usually just his way of saying no.