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I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.

William Safire

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William Safire
Age: 79 †
Born: 1929
Born: December 17
Died: 2009
Died: September 27
Author
Columnist
Journalist
Writer
New York City
New York
William Lewis Safire
Conservatives
Libertarian
Willing
Things

More quotes by William Safire

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Do not be taken in by 'insiderisms.' Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' Where they lede, do not follow.
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As long as one American is hungry... then we have unfinished business in this country.
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A reader should be able to identify a column without its byline or funny little picture on top purely by look or feel, or its turgidity ratio.
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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
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Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
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The trick is to start early in our careers the stress-relieving avocation that we will need later as a mind-exercising final vocation. We can quit a job, but we quit fresh involvement at our mental peril.
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The tension between the governed and the governing is what makes the world go 'round. It's not love, it's that tension, because that tension exists in love affairs. The whole idea of control is at the heart of human relationships. Control and resistance to control.
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Never assume the obvious is true.
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Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.
William Safire
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This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and have some impact.
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Better to be a jerk that knees than a knee that jerks.
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It is in the nature of tyranny to deride the will of the people as the voice of the mob, and to denounce the cry for freedom as the roar of anarchy.
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By elevating your reading, you will improve your writing or at least tickle your thinking.
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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
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Create your own constituency of the infuriated.
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Sir Alec Douglas-Home, when he was British Foreign Secretary, said he received the following telegram from an irate citizen: To hell with you. Offensive letter follows.
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Give your main clause a little space. Prose is not like boxing the skilled writer deliberately telegraphs his punch, knowing that the reader wants to take the message directly on the chin.
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The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.
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Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.
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What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.
William Safire