Will Rogers had a quip for just about any situation, but he loved to talk politics. Rogers was born on a Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma. His father was a Confederate veteran and political leader in the Cherokee nation. At the height of his career, Will Rogers had the number one radio program in America and was the highest paid actor in Hollywood.
His folksy style and unassuming demeanor veiled a sharp wit and keen political insight. He understood the charade better than most. Rogers despised the Republican Party, but more than anything he hated career politicians and government waste.
Our current infatuation with the American civic religion could use a little dose of Will Rogers. He also serves as a reminder that Washington D.C. has been a cesspool for decades.
“We always want the best man to win the election. Unfortunately, he never does.”
“If you ever injected truth into politics you have no politics.”
“I don’t know who started the idea that a President must be a Politician instead of a Business man. A Politician can’t run any other kind of business. So there is no reason why he can run the U.S. That’s the biggest single business in the World.”
“America has the best politicians money can buy.”
“Congress is so strange; a man gets up to speak and says nothing, nobody listens, and then everybody disagrees.”
“Congress meets tomorrow morning. Let us all pray: Oh Lord, give us strength to bear that which is about to be inflicted upon us. Be merciful with them, oh Lord, for they know not what they’re doing. Amen.”
“We all joke about Congress but we can’t improve on them. Have you noticed that no matter who we elect, he is just as bad as the one he replaces?”
“Never blame a legislative body for not doing something. When they do nothing, they don’t hurt anybody. When they do something is when they become dangerous.”
“Our president delivered his State of the Union message to Congress. That is one of the things his contract calls for — to tell congress the condition of the country. This message, as I say, is to Congress. The rest of the people know the condition of the country, for they live in it, but Congress has no idea what is going on in America, so the president has to tell ’em.”
“It’s getting so if a man wants to stand well socially, he can’t afford to be seen with either the Democrats or the Republicans.”
“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously, and the politicians as a joke, when it used to be vice versa.”
“It looks to me like any man that wants to be President in times like these lacks something.”
“Lord, the money we do spend on Government and it’s not one bit better than the government we got for one-third the money twenty years ago.”
