If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.
~ Paul Wellstone
When too many Americans don't vote or participate, some see apathy and despair. I see disappointment and even outrage. And I believe that out of this frustration can come hope and action.
Politics is not predictions and politics is not observations. Politics is what we do. Politics is what we do, politics is what we create, by what we work for, by what we hope for and what we dare to imagine.
Sometimes, the only realists are the dreamers.
I saw as a teacher how, if you take that spark of learning that those children have, and you ignite it, you can take a child from any background to a lifetime of creativity and accomplishment.
If a teacher does not involve himself, his values, his commitments, in the course of discussion, why should the students?
Politics is not about power.
I emphasize self-esteem, self-confidence, and dignity, not as an ideal, but as a real test of community organization. Without leadership development, community organizations do not have staying power.
There are three critical ingredients to democratic renewal and progressive change in America: good public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics.
Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people.
We can and must move U.S. politics forward by means of committed participation.
I don't think politics has anything to do with left, right, or center. It has to do with trying to do right by people.
A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail.
The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power.
Education and democracy have the same goal: the fullest possible development of human capabilities.
