Alan K. Simpson Quotes

Alan K. Simpson is an American politician and attorney. He served as a United States Senator from Wyoming and was known for his wit, humor, and pragmatic approach to governance. Simpson's bipartisan work and dedication to public service have earned him respect across the political spectrum.

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If yo... -Alan K. Simpson

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.

He has to do the heavy lifting and the windows and... -Alan K. Simpson

He has to do the heavy lifting and the windows and the wash, and also protect the president.

He's a million rubber bands in his resilience.... -Alan K. Simpson

He's a million rubber bands in his resilience.

Rather than serving in the U.S. Senate for almost 20 years or having so many other wonderful life experiences, I could have served a longer sentence in prison for some of the stupid, reckless things I did as a teenager.

I am living proof that youth possess a unique capacity to grow and change - that the child who seems hopeless today could go on to change the world.

The person you are at 13 or 17 is not the person you are at 30, 40, or 50. Everyone old enough to look back on his or her teenage years knows this.

If children who commit crimes are not given the opportunity of a second chance, they may die in prison for acts made before having developed the cognitive and emotional skills needed to make informed and smart decisions and choices.

My parole officer always believed in my capacity for redemption, even when my actions did not inspire confidence.

Before holding elective office - 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives and 18 years in the U.S. Senate - I served a different type of time. I was on probation for a federal offense committed as a teenager.

America's Founders were committed to a wide-open public forum in which all voices and perspectives could have a chance of being heard.

Peer pressure is a huge part of youth behavior, whether one grows up in Washington, D.C., or Cody, Wyo.

The word liberal distinguishes whatever nourishes the mind and spirit from the training which is merely practical or professional or from the trivialities which are no training at all.

Voluntary public funding of elections solves the free speech 'problem' with more speech instead of more regulation: by giving qualified candidates who show broad-based constituent support enough matching public funds to mount a credible campaign.

The AARP is a group of 3.8 million Americans bound together by a common love of airline discounts and insurance discounts.

Restoring and maintaining a great nation's fiscal health will require not just sound arguments and an engaged public but something more. It will require an electoral system that encourages our representatives to place the long-term interests of the public ahead of parochial special interests.

Without the confidence to know our democracy is functioning properly, we risk more disillusionment, more cynicism, and even more public apathy toward the entire system.

When a young person is sent 'up the river,' we nee... -Alan K. Simpson

When a young person is sent 'up the river,' we need to remember that all rivers can change course.

Any education that matters is liberal. All the saving truths, all the healing graces that distinguish a good education from a bad one or a full education from a half empty one are contained in that word.

Money's dominance over politics isn't merely one problem of many our country faces. It is the problem! It is a growing crisis that prevents us from tackling anything else.

If the need for comprehensive campaign finance reform was not already clear, the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United permitting unlimited corporate and union spending in campaigns certainly made it so in 2010.

Let us end 'don't ask, don't tell.'... -Alan K. Simpson

Let us end 'don't ask, don't tell.'

The concept of government of, by, and for the people isn't just a platitude. It's the moral construction of our nation. It's in our bones.

Stemming the tide of special interest campaign cash - and restoring fiscal responsibility in Congress - is no easy task. But there is one place where concerned citizens in both parties can begin: Changing the source of money that funds all campaigns.

I served three terms in the U.S. Senate and was co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in 2010. So I know a bit about how Washington operates, and I have had plenty of experience doing the work of running for office.

In World War II, a British mathematician named Alan Turing led the effort to crack the Nazis' communication code. He mastered the complex German enciphering machine, helping to save the world, and his work laid the basis for modern computer science. Does it matter that Turing was gay?

Across the nation, there are thousands of individuals serving life or life-equivalent sentences for crimes they committed as children. This means they will likely die in prison without a chance to prove to society they are worthy of a second chance.

It was not until my 20s that I began to creep towa... -Alan K. Simpson

It was not until my 20s that I began to creep toward maturity.

You were doing a sadistic little disservice to you... -Alan K. Simpson

You were doing a sadistic little disservice to your country.

As a lifelong Republican who served in the Army in Germany, I believe it is critical that we review - and overturn - the ban on gay service in the military. I voted for 'don't ask, don't tell.' But much has changed since 1993. My thinking shifted when I read that the military was firing translators because they are gay.

Since 1993, I have had the rich satisfaction of knowing and working with many openly gay and lesbian Americans, and I have come to realize that 'gay' is an artificial category when it comes to measuring a man or woman's on-the-job performance or commitment to shared goals. It says little about the person.

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