James Carville quotes

James Carville is an American political consultant and media personality, widely recognized for his work on Democratic Party campaigns. Known as the "Ragin' Cajun," he played a key role in Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential victory. He continues to be a prominent commentator and strategist in American politics. Here are 90 of his quotes:

Republicans want smaller government for the same reason crooks want fewer cops; it's easier to get away with murder.

James Carville

Washington is a dirty diaper. It's time for a change.

James Carville

When you become famous, being famous becomes your profession.

James Carville

[Hollywood] hates America.

James Carville

Sometimes the right thing gets done for the wrong reason and sometimes, unfortunately, the wrong thing gets done for the right reason.

James Carville

Stay focused. Talk about things that'll matter to the people, you know? It's the economy, stupid.

James Carville

I didn't just experiment with marijuana - if you know what I mean.

James Carville

Ideologies aren't all that important. What's important is psychology.

James Carville

I think Ralph Nader is the biggest liar in American politics when he said it didn't matter who was president.

James Carville

You know, back in 2000 a Republican friend of mine warned me that if I voted for Al Gore and he won, the stock market would tank, we'd lose millions of jobs, and our military would be totally overstretched. You know what: I did vote for Al Gore, he did win, and I'll be damned if all those things didn't come true.

James Carville

What I'm suggesting is, stand for yourself, be for something, and the hell with it. Because the hand-wringers and the editorialists and the sigh-and-pontificate crowd will be against you, whatever you do.

James Carville

I think the American people ought to take their democracy back.

James Carville

But I'd rather not predict. I'd rather affect.

James Carville

You can call the dogs in, wet the fire, and leave the house. The hunt's over.

James Carville

Let me buy a [security] pass ... so that they can scan me and and search me and measure my penis, then let me get on the plane.

James Carville

If you didn't have some sense of idealism, then what is there to sustain you?

James Carville

Every day Catholics prove that you can be a good Catholic and a good Democrat and have a different position from the Church on abortion.

James Carville

We should not run away from religious teachings. We should run to them.

James Carville

I think the Democratic Party has the chronic problem of appearing to be weak, of not standing and fighting for what it believes in, not fighting for its own.

James Carville

I think that America will not trust a party to defend America that isn't willing to defend itself.

James Carville

This is not class warfare, this is generational warfare. This administration and old wealthy people have declared war on young people. That is the real war that is going on here. And that is the war we've got to talk about.

James Carville

Hurricane [Katrina] hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed much of the Gulf Coast - that was an act of God ... Now what happened to New Orleans, that was a complete failure of the federal government. Complete negligence by the feds.

James Carville