Margaret Chase Smith quotes

Margaret Chase Smith was an American comedian known for her sharp wit and clever observational humor. Her stand-up performances and television appearances brought laughter to audiences nationwide. She inspired many aspiring comedians and remains celebrated for her unique comedic voice. Here are 37 of her quotes:

The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character. (Margaret Chase Smith)
One of the basic causes for all the trouble in the world today is that people talk too much and think too little. They act too impulsively without thinking. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned, not bought. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
We are Republicans. But we are Americans first. It is as Americans that we express our concern with the growing confusion that threatens the security and stability of our country. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
We should not permit tolerance to degenerate into indifference. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
My basic rule is to speak slowly and simply so that my audience has an opportunity to follow and think about what I am saying. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Surely these are sufficient reasons to make it clear to the American people that it is time for a change and that a Republican victory is necessary to the security of this country. Surely it is clear that this nation will continue to suffer as long as it is governed by the present ineffective Democratic Administration. Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny - Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation. (Margaret Chase Smith)
Every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration. Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Surely the United States Senate is big enough to take self-criticism and self-appraisal. Surely we should be able to take the same kind of character attacks that we "dish out" to outsiders. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
I speak as briefly as possible because too much harm has already been done with irresponsible words of bitterness and selfish political opportunism. I speak as simply as possible because the issue is too great to be obscured by eloquence. I speak simply and briefly in the hope that my words will be taken to heart. I speak as a Republican. I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
My uncle Sammy was an angry man. He had printed on his tombstone: What are you looking at? View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
I don't visit my parents often because Delta Airlines won't wait in the yard while I run in. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
The best contraceptive is the word no - repeated frequently. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Sin recognized but that may keep us humble, But oh, it keeps us nasty. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
I can't get a relationship to last longer than it takes to make copies of their tapes. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism: :The right to criticize; :The right to hold unpopular beliefs; :The right to protest; :The right of independent thought. The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn't? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in. (Margaret Chase Smith)
Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Smears are not only to be expected but fought. Honor is to be earned, not bought. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Strength, the American way, is not manifested by threats of criminal prosecution or police state methods. Leadership is not manifested by coercion, even against the resented. Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith
Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods. View quote
Margaret Chase Smith