I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
One of the pages on the New Mexico Republican Party’s Web site is devoted to the words of “great Republicans.” There are the usual suspects there (Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan) along with some more questionable choices — both former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and current U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan.
And while most of the quotes are accurate, like, “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Lincoln), others are of more questionable origin.
For example, this quote attributed to ex-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich:
The Declaration of Independence says we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Notice, unlike the welfare state it doesn’t guarantee happiness, it doesn’t offer happiness stamps, it doesn’t suggest the government should pay therapy for those who have not yet found happiness.
While such a quote does seem like something that would come from the mouth of Newt Gingrich, it only appears on two Web sites according to Google, neither of which are exactly authoritative. (One of them has a video of an acapella band singing the parody song “I’m on a boat”).
There is no mention of the quote in a Lexis search.
Even harder to find is the origin of this quote attributed to George W. Bush:
I don’t give a damn about my popularity. When I get back to Crawford and look in the mirror, all I will have are my principles.
This time, searching Google for this quote and pieces of this quote only comes up with one result — from an argument on an internet forum. And the poster is making fun of President Bush in the post.
A Barbara Bush quote is a little more fluid. Many sites, including About.com say that the former first lady uttered these words:
If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.
However, a book called “Weaknesses: Webster’s Quotations, Facts and Phrases” has an identical quote is attributed to a Robert Conklin according to Google Books.
This would appear to be the author Robert Conklin who wrote self-help books, not the convicted murderer who was executed in Georgia in 2005.
A quote attributed to Alaska governor and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is accurate, but has its own problems. Palin said the following in her famous speech at the Republican National Convention:
This is a man (Barack Obama) who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed… when the roar of the crowd fades away… when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot — what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger… take more of your money.
In fact-checking the article, ABC News found that the beginning of this speech excerpt didn’t exactly stack up to reality.
On July 15, in a speech in Washington, D.C., Obama twice used the word “victory” in reference to Iraq.”In fact,” he said, “true success in Iraq — victory in Iraq — will not take place in a surrender ceremony where an enemy lays down their arms… I want Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future, and to reach the political accommodation necessary for long-term stability. That’s victory. That’s success. That’s what’s best for Iraq, that’s what’s best for America, and that’s why I will end this war as president.
Of course, as our sister site the Colorado Independent noted back at the time, “most voters expect politicians to stretch the truth and most likely won’t hold it against (Palin) too much.”
Perhaps some of these quotes occurred in books or magazine articles which I have not read. But in this age of chain e-mails with a less-than 100 percent truth rate, it appears more likely someone invented a particularly perfect quote for some famous Republicans.
