Sam Rayburn Quotes

Let the other fellow get the headlines. I'll take the laws. ~ Sam Rayburn

Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one. ~ Sam Rayburn

Poverty only tries men's souls. It is loneliness that breaks the heart. ~ Sam Rayburn

You'll never get mixed up if you simply tell the truth. Then you don't have to remember what you have said, and you never forget what you have said. ~ Sam Rayburn

When you get too big a majority, you're immediately in trouble.' ~ Sam Rayburn

Son, if you can't take their money, drink their whiskey, screw their women, and then vote against 'em, you don't deserve to be here. ~ Sam Rayburn

The real actor has a direct line to the collective heart. ~ Sam Rayburn

Among those dazzled by the Administration team was Vice-President Lyndon Johnson. After attending his first Cabinet meeting he went back to his mentor Sam Rayburn and told him with great enthusiasm how extraordinary they were, each brighter than the next, and that the smartest of them all was that fellow with the Stacomb on his hair from the Ford Motor Company, McNamara. "Well, Lyndon," Mister Sam answered, "you may be right and they may be every bit as intelligent as you say, but I'd feel a whole lot better about them if just one of them had run for sheriff once." It is my favorite story in the book, for it underlines the weakness of the Kennedy team, the difference between intelligence and wisdom, between the abstract quickness and verbal fluency which the team exuded, and the true wisdom, which is the product of hard-won, often bitter experience. Wisdom for a few of them came after Vietnam. ~ David Halberstam

In my many years as a Representative in Congress it is my observation that the district that is best represented is the district that is wise enough to select a man of energy, intelligence, and integrity and reelects him year after year. A man of this type and character serves more efficiently and effectively the longer he is returned by his people. ~ Sam Rayburn

When the concept of Social Security came before the House, every Republican but one voted against it. Had it not been for the Democrats, Social Security would never have passed, and our older people would not have this great support that our people provide. It has been my experience that Democrats generally vote to protect the people, while Republicans seem to try to protect the interests of big business. ~ Sam Rayburn

There are no degrees in honorableness. You either are or you aren't. ~ Sam Rayburn

Son, always tell the truth. Then you'll never have to remember what you said the last time. ~ Sam Rayburn

No southerner had been elected President for more than a century, and it was a bitter article of faith among southern politicians that no southerner would be elected President in any foreseeable future; when members of the House of Representatives gave their Speaker, Sam Rayburn, ruler of the House for more than two decades, a limousine as a present, attached to the back of the front seat was a plaque that read 'To Our Beloved Sam Rayburn - Who Would Have Been President If He Had Come From Any Place but the South. ~ Robert A. Caro

You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too. ~ Sam Rayburn

Any jackass can kick down a barn. It takes a carpenter to build on. ~ Sam Rayburn

Don't ever talk until you know what you are talking about. ~ Sam Rayburn

If a man has common sense, he has all the sense there is. ~ Sam Rayburn

They may be just as intelligent as you say. But I'd feel a helluva lot better if just one of them had ever run for sheriff. ~ Sam Rayburn

Religious faith is the one species of human ignorance that will not admit of even the possibility of correction. ~ Sam Harris

Shooting at Coco Chanel's apartment was an unexpectedly absorbing experience. The essence of Chanel is firmly rooted there in all of her possessions, and I truly believe that her spirit and soul still inhabit the second floor. ~ Sam Taylor-Johnson

My dad sung and played piano. But he was also a man of God. He was a minister. So when Sam Cooke would come in town, you know, with The Soul Stirrers at that time, he was singing gospel, they would end up at my dad's church, and it would always be a guest singer for Sunday morning. ~ Merry Clayton

I think beautiful independent films are made, and I think they're as close to what theater can be because they're not loaded with all of the extra stuff. It's human, and it's more organic, but theater is very unique ... It's a different connection altogether. ~ Sam Underwood

One theme I ran into over and over while writing about the periodic table was the future of energy and the question of which element or elements will replace carbon as king. ~ Sam Kean

Sam: "I - it's - I'm not an animal. ~ Maggie Stiefvater

It wasn't until the late '70s that a lot of people knew me. ~ Sam Donaldson

Boxing should probably be banned. But until then, I'm a big fan. ~ Sam Simon

My life has had meaning, with the friendships full and valuable and essential to me. My children, Steve, Leslie, and Sam, are all different-all first-rate human beings with high standards-whom I completely and unequivocally adore-don't always agree with-but always admire and respect. They all have wit and a sense of humor and, thank God, I have hung on to mine. ~ Lauren Bacall

I take the sealed envelope from him - ​the one that holds the information about my biological father. I ask him for his cigarette lighter. He hands it to me. I look at Sam and Fito and say, "Word for the day." Sam understands and says, "Nurture." I take the unopened envelope. I am watching myself as I take the lighter and place it over the edge of the paper. I am watching the envelope burn. I am watching the ashes floating up to the heavens. I am hearing myself as I tell my father, "I know who my father is. I have always known." And now I am laughing. And my dad is laughing. And Fito is smiling that incredible smile of his. We are watching Sam dance around the yard as Maggie follows her and jumps up and barks. Sam is shouting out to me and the morning sky, "Your name is Salvador! Your name is Salvador! Your name is Salvador! ~ Benjamin Alire Saenz

Outside, I experience a bad feeling and I realize it is because I haven't been outside for a few day so now it's uncomfortable. ~ Sam Pink

Following the death of his wife, Sam Johnson wrote to the Reverend Mr. Thomas Warton, "I have ever since seemed to myself broken off from mankind; a kind of solitary wanderer in the wilds of life, without any certain direction, or fixed point of view: a gloomy gazer on a world to which I have little relation."
But my wife wasn't dead, merely absent. ~ Mordecai Richler

I wanted to become an artist because it meant endless possibilities. Art was a way of reinventing myself. ~ Sam Taylor-Wood

Momentum and growth are the lifeblood of startups. This is probably in the top three secrets of executing well. ~ Sam Altman

One girl raved about a nice voicemail a guy had recently left her. I kindly requested she play it and heard this gem: 'Hey, Lydia. It's Sam. Just calling to say what's up. Gimme a ring when you get a chance.'

THAT WAS IT.

I pleaded to know what was so great about this. She sweetly recalled that 'he remembered my name, he said hi, and he told me to call him back.'

Never mind the fact that what she described was the content of LITERALLY EVERY VOICE MAIL IN HISTORY. Name, hello, please call back. Not really a boatload of charm on display. To fail this test, a guy would have to leave a message that said: 'No greeting. This is man. I don't remember you. End communication. ~ Aziz Ansari

This is the proper moment to maximize your favorable occasion and actualize your favorable influence. ~ Anyaele Sam Chiyson

Macho and manly and stern and, oh man. Sam sighed. Guys like this were never gay. They were always the ones chasing the homos. ~ Anne Tenino

The whole world is watching America, and America is watching TV. ~ Sam Levenson

We must proceed with our own energy development. Exploitation of domestic petroleum and natural gas potentialities, along with nuclear, solar, geothermal, and non-fossil fuels is vital. We will never again permit any foreign nation to have Uncle Sam over a barrel of oil. ~ Gerald R. Ford

I look back at the thousands of days through which I have lived, and feel awed by their inconsequentiality. My life resembles the writing in my diary (or perhaps it's the other way around): the days, like the sentences, each making a kind of superficial sense of their own, but in the context of the surrounding sentences and days, creating not a narrative or a meaning, but the very opposite: a riddle without solutions, a labyrinth without exits. A chaos. ~ Sam Taylor

All that stuff about my father and my childhood is interesting up to a certain point, but I kind of capsized with the family drama a long time ago. Now I want to get away from that. Not that I won't return to it, but a certain element has been exhausted, and it feels like why regurgitate all this stuff? ~ Sam Shepard

Even if you believe that every human being harbors an immortal soul, the problem of responsibility remains: I cannot take credit for the fact that I do not have the soul of a psychopath. ~ Sam Harris

(Sam) "We need to focus and having Maya moon over Rafe us making everyone uncomfortable."
Rafe grinned. "Doesn't bother me."
"Because your ego really needs the encouragement." ~ Kelley Armstrong

After 40, you want to reverse the ageing process. That's complicated for me because I spent so many years wanting to be older. ~ Sam Rockwell

Sam Vimes, I've dreamed of visiting Koom Valley all my life, so don't you think for one moment you're gallivanting off to see it and leave me at home!" "I don't gallivant! I've never gallivanted. I don't know how to vant! I don't even have a galli! But there's going to be a war there soon!" "Then I shall tell them we're not involved!" said Sybil calmly. "That won't work!" "Then it won't work in Ankh-Morpork, either," said Sybil, ~ Terry Pratchett

You don't ask for much, do you? It may look like we've got a whole lot of supplies here, but I've got five hungry boys to feed, plus I give whatever I can to Adam and the Black Ridge lot. You need to give me a real good reason, otherwise the answer is going to be no."
Sam took a deep breath. "I'm going to kill the Antichrist."
Big Tom sat completely still for a moment. Then he smiled. "Yep. That'll do it. ~ Phillip W. Simpson

Positive social emotions like compassion and empathy are generally good for us, and we want to encourage them. But do we know how to most reliably raise children to care about the suffering of other people? I'm not sure we do. ~ Sam Harris

You can't go."
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't."
"Because I'll miss you, damn it!" she hissed, splaying her arms. "Because what's the point in anything if you just disappear forever?"
"The point in what, Celaena?" How could he be so calm when she was so frantic?
"The point in Skull's Bay, and the point in getting me that music, and the point in ... the point in telling Arobynn that you'd forgive him if he never hurt me again."
"You said you didn't care what I thought. Or what I did. Or if I died, if I'm not mistaken."
"I lied! And you know I lied you stupid bastard! ~ Sarah J. Maas

People gave names to things so they could tell stories about them, goddam fairy tales about children who got out alive. ~ Sam Lipsyte

The Killing Fields, my character's teachings frame the movie and the argument of his lectures is the challenge of dealing with the painfulness of life in the absence of faith. ~ Sam Waterston

The tenth social network, and limited only to college students with no money, also terrible. Myspace had won. ~ Sam Altman

Mondays are just like Sam from Clarissa Explains it All. They just show up through the damn window whenever the hell they feel like it. ~ Shannon Woodward

I do realize that God has given me so many blessings in my life. I mean, not only with football, but with the family that He's blessed me with and the opportunity He's given me to grow up in a home that embraces God. ~ Sam Bradford

I am not a piece of meat, Sam," Hunter feigned insult. "And my eyes are up here. ~ Genna Rulon

Just because something makes sense after the fact doesn't mean it was obvious all along. ~ Sam Gosling

Do you think, Sam, that even if it were only my own heart at risk, I could pour it into your hands again?"
"Then just take mine. I'm not doing anything else with it. ~ Nora Roberts

I hope that one of my legacies, and I worked to pass it on, is moderation in politics. ~ Sam Reed

Do you trust me, Sam?"
"Yeah, of course I do. What's that got to do with the letter opener in your hand you're brandishing like a weapon? ~ Christina Channelle

Playing golf is like eating. It's something which has to come naturally. ~ Sam Snead

I like kissing you," he whispered roughly, dipping his forehead against hers. "I like kissing you, too," Sam breathed. I am mad with desire for you. He told her silently. But there's more to it. I want to make you happy. I find that I'm not happy unless you are. What does it mean? She wasn't sure what it meant, but she liked it. ~ Paula Quinn

When person A loves person B," he began, "person A gets upset at the thought of never seeing person B again."
He meant me.
He meant he loved me.
But now I knew that love was a poisonous thing. It had turned me into a murderer. I would die with my secret before I would tell.
"It's better that way," I lied, "because person B doesn't love person A back. ~ Cherie Bennett

If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist on a diet of raw vegetables, you would find a new golf instructor. However, when gurus make demands of this kind, many of their students simply do as directed. ~ Sam Harris

On every commercial flight, the traveler is told, "Your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device". The question is, why doesn't the plane just become a boat? ~ Sam Ewing

Forever?"
Sam's lips smiled, but above his grin, his yellow eyes turned sad, as if he knew it was a lie.
"Longer. ~ Maggie Stiefvater

It takes years and years, usually a decade, to create a great startup. ~ Sam Altman

When you want to bring something new into being, follow it through and bring it to a happy state. ~ Anyaele Sam Chiyson

You think you know yourself, the world. You believe you've got a bead on everybody else's bullshit, but what about your own? ~ Sam Lipsyte

It takes more energy, resources and time to compete than to create. Wouldn't you rather live the life of ease? ~ Anyaele Sam Chiyson