Hubert Humphrey quotes

Hubert Humphrey was an American politician who served as Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson. A leading figure in the Democratic Party, he was known for his advocacy of civil rights and progressive policies. He played a key role in shaping mid-20th century American politics. Here are 56 of his quotes:

In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be. (Hubert Humphrey)
I learnt more about politics during one South Dakota dust storm than in seven years at the university. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The Senate is a place filled with goodwill and good intentions, and if the road to hell is paved with them, then it's a pretty good detour. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
It is not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
This, then, is the test we must set for ourselves; not to march alone but to march in such a way that others will wish to join us. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
To those who say - My friends, to those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years late. To those who say - To those who say that this civil-rights program is an infringement on states' rights, I say this: The time has arrived in America for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of states' rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Each child is an adventure into a better life - an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new. (Hubert Humphrey)
It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Behind every successful man is a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. This is not to say that firearms should not be very carefully used, and that definite safety rules of precaution should not be taught and enforced. But the right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be always possible. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
I wish to suggest that ample opportunity does exist for dissent, for protest, and for nonconformity. But I must also say that the right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
I had no money to buy books, so between classes and work, I haunted the library. I even tutored in French with a sliding scale of payment: twenty dollars for an A, fifteen for a B, ten for a C, five for a D. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The story of the labor movement needs to be taught in every school in this land... America is a living testimonial to what free men and women, organized in free democratic trade unions can do to make a better life ... we ought to be proud of it! View quote
Hubert Humphrey
The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Liberalism, above all, means emancipation - emancipation from one's fears, his inadequacies, from prejudice, from discrimination, from poverty. (Hubert Humphrey)
Propaganda, to be effective, must be believed. To be believed, it must be credible. To be credible, it must be true. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
We can't use a double standard - there's no room for double standards in American politics - for measuring our own and other people's policies. Our demands for democratic practices in other lands will be no more effective than the guarantee of those practices in our own country. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
We believe that to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics. View quote
Hubert Humphrey
Never give in and never give up. View quote
Hubert Humphrey