RAYBURNISMS

 

Sam Rayburn was known for pearls of wisdom he would dispense to young members of Congress called “Rayburnisms”. Here is a sample of some Rayburnisms.

 

“Any fellow who will cheat for you will cheat against you.”

 

“There is an old proverb that the old complain of the conduct of the young when they themselves can no longer set a bad example.”

“If a man has good common sense, he has about all the sense there is.”

 

“It’s easy to be an obstructionist; it’s hard to be a constructionist.”

“A man whose change of position changes his position is lost.”

 

“The size of a man has nothing to do with his height.”

“The greatest ambition a man should have is to be just.”

 

“We must meet things worthwhile more than halfway-they will not come to us.”

“The steam that blows a whistle will never turn a wheel”

 

“When two men agree on everything, one of them is doing all the thinking.”

“It’s better to be silent and pretend dumb than to speak and remove all doubt.”

 

“I always tell the truth the first time and do not need a good memory to remember it.”

“Any man who will deceive the voters during a political campaign will deceive them after his elected.”

 

“A man who becomes conceited and arrogant wasn’t big enough for the job.”

“Without vision, nations perish.”

 

“There are no degrees in truthfulness. There are no degrees in honesty. You are 100 percent or you are not.”

“Damn the man who is always looking for credit. If a man does his job, and does it well, he will get more credit than he is really entitled to.”

 

“There is a time to fish and a time to mend nets.”

“Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build it.”

 

“I have found that people respect you if you tell them where you stand.”

“It is a wise man who realizes that the church is bigger than its pastor.”

 

“A fellow who eats high on the hog can expect to have a few chitlings.”

“We’re Democrats, you know, and nobody can boss us. And we fight like hell.”

 

“Why should a fellow try to throw a big calf when he’s still stomping and running? Wait until he is easy to throw.”

“I came within a gnat’s heel of remaining a tenant farmer.”

 

“I have greater trust in people who send their congressmen postal cards and handwritten letters on tablet paper than those who send telegrams.”

“If you say you’re tired, you will be tired.”

 

“Some men ripen earlier than others and burn out early. Powder will flash but it won’t burn.

“A brilliant uninformed orator is no match for a poor speaker who is informed.”

 

“I think that the entire political leadership of the country is guilty of underestimating the American people.”

“The real test of a man is the way he carries success.”

 

“Never use sarcasm. It detracts from the other man’s dignity, and anyone you ridicule will remember it thirty years later.”

“Whenever you’re mad and ready to say something, wait a minute.”

 

“If you can’t lead by persuasion, you can’t lead at all.”

“You think you hate a man only because you don’t know him.”

 

“The American people, when properly appealed to, respond.”

“Once you have lost the people’s respect, it is very hard to regain their esteem.”

 

“To get along, go along. But I’ve never asked a man to cast a vote that would violate his conscience or wreck him politically.”

“———— was the hardest fellow to help I had ever seen. He never did say what he was for, only what he was against.”

 

“If there is anything I hate more than old fogie, it’s a young fogie.”

“People don’t do things for you because you’ve done things for them; it’s what they’ve done willingly for you that cements friendship.”

“Legislation should never be designed to punish anyone.”