Digby posted this quotation under the heading “Crazy Left Wing Hippie,” along with a challenge to guess who said it:
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires,and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
I am feeling a bit smug because I guessed it correctly in one.
Also, I loved that last line: “Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” Too bad only the second assertion still holds true.
I’m curious what y’all come up with, so please drop your best (or worst!) guess in comments.
The correct answer is here (also via Digby).
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
Hmmm …
OK, this is obviously quoted ironically, so we must be talking about some leading conservative from pre-Tea Party days, maybe pre-Bush Jr. Not dramatic enough for a Reagan speech; too literary for a Reagan offhand comment, so I’m going to scratch him.
The next obvious choice would be George Will. Although it seems to lack his trademark pomposity, he is someone who has always enjoyed looking down at people he sees as his intellectual inferiors, even when they’re on ‘his’ side, so I’m going to go with Mr. S. Will.
Will is a good guess – the diction is similar, isn’t it? But that’s also one hint at the age of the quotation. Something about the combination of dignity and common sense reminded me of Eisenhower’s condemnation of the military-industrial complex.
What a funny world. I never imagined I’d find myself pining for Dwight D. Eisenhower.
I’ve quoted this to people before; it’s a classic. I think I may have originally picked it up from a Richard Hofstadter essay collection I own, but I can’t track down my copy right now, so I don’t know for sure. (Which reminds me, I should drop by the library and get more stuff by Hofstadter. His writing has definitely aged well.)
Funny, I don’t think I’ve looked at Hofstadter since college, but I can easily believe that he’s held up well.
The problem of locating books is an endemic one in my house. A few years back, my mate built a garden shed. By now, I’m wishing he’d built a library annex instead.
Very cool that you actually knew this quotation! I’m impressed.