Alan K. Simpson Quotes

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Alan K. Simpson

Profession : Politician

Birth : September 2, 1931

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

Alan K. Simpson

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?

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

You were doing a sadistic little disservice to your country.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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

Alan K. Simpson

There is no 'slippery slope' toward loss of liberties, only a long staircase where each step downward must first be tolerated by the American people and their leaders.

Alan K. Simpson

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

Alan K. Simpson

If you're in the game long enough, you're going to be the toast of the town one day, and the next day you'll be toast.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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

Alan K. Simpson

The Republican Party I represented proudly for 18 years did not shy away from taking on special-interest money when it conflicted with constituents' needs.

Alan K. Simpson

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

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson

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.

Alan K. Simpson