J. C. Watts quotes

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. (J. C. Watts)
Affirmative action is a little like the professional football draft. The NFL awards its No. 1 draft choices to the lowest-ranked team in the league. It doesn't do this out of compassion or guilt. It's done for mutual survival. They understand that a league can only be as strong as its weakest team. View quote
J. C. Watts
They said that I had sold out and Uncle Tom. And I said well, they deserve to have that view. But I have my thoughts. And I think they're race-hustling poverty pimps. View quote
J. C. Watts
It doesn't take a lot of strength to hang on. It takes a lot of strength to let go. View quote
J. C. Watts
For longer than I've been involved in the political process, the Republican establishment has claimed to want to provide an alternative for the black community, yet party elite refuse to show up for the game. View quote
J. C. Watts
I do think, however, that there's a very diverse point of view in the African-American community. There's a lot of different voices that need to be heard. I don't claim and pretend to know the thoughts and opinions and ideas of all African-Americans. View quote
J. C. Watts
Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It's not hard. Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking. View quote
J. C. Watts
Reparations, I believe, are talked about for political reasons, trying to cater for the purpose of getting votes. If Congress was serious about reparations - in '93 and '94 the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the White House, and not one single Republican vote was needed for reparations. View quote
J. C. Watts
If you are explaining, you are losing. View quote
J. C. Watts
My views on everything from welfare to a balanced budget to affirmative action can be traced to what Buddy and Helen Watts taught me as a young boy growing up poor but proud in Eufaula. View quote
J. C. Watts
Governor is not the position to have in Oklahoma. It is the head coach of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State or Tulsa. (J. C. Watts)
Everything I am I owe to my faith and secondly to parents who were old school. View quote
J. C. Watts
I never got into politics for it to be a career. View quote
J. C. Watts
One of the Republicans' major products is dream making. People are dying to get into this country... not out of it. View quote
J. C. Watts
I embrace my blackness, just as I do my conservatism and my Christianity, but I don't want to be defined or pigeonholed by any one of the many elements that make up my character. View quote
J. C. Watts
Character does count. For too long we have gotten by in a society that says the only thing right is to get by and the only thing wrong is to get caught. Character is doing what's right when nobody is looking... View quote
J. C. Watts
America needs to be a place where all of us can feel a part of the American dream. But it will not happen by dividing us into racial groups. It will not happen by trying to turn the poor against the rich. It will not happen by asking Americans to accept what is immoral and wrong in the name of tolerance. View quote
J. C. Watts
In my wildest imagination, I never thought that the fifth of six children born to Helen and Buddy Watts - in a poor black neighborhood, in the poor rural community of Eufaula, Oklahoma - would someday be called Congressman. View quote
J. C. Watts
The measure of a man is not how great his faith is, but how great his love is. We must not let government programs disconnect our souls from each other. View quote
J. C. Watts
When it comes to the American dream, no one has a corner on the market. All of us have an equal chance to share in that dream. View quote
J. C. Watts
Republicans think that the NAACP is the only voice in the black community. It is a voice in the black community. But it's not the only voice. (J. C. Watts)
I'm not one that believes that affirmative action should be based on one's skin color or one's gender, I think it should be done based on one's need, because I think if you are from a poor white community, I think that poor white kid needs a scholarship just as badly as a poor black kid. View quote
J. C. Watts
The more I ponder some of the boneheaded decisions GOP candidates have made of late, I can't bring myself to believe that they are serious about capturing more than about 8 percent of the black vote. View quote
J. C. Watts
I think the Republican Party should be a pro-life party. I am pro-life. I do not apologize for that. On the flip side of that coin, the Republican Party has been big enough to allow pro-choice advocates to be heard. View quote
J. C. Watts
Good policy makes good politics and what I've done has been good politics. View quote
J. C. Watts