List of United States political catchphrases explained

The following is a chronological list of political catchphrases throughout the history of the United States government. This is not necessarily a list of historical quotes, but phrases that have been commonly referenced or repeated within various political contexts.

19th-century

20th-century

1900s–1950s

1960s–1970s

1980s

1990s

21st-century

2000s

See also: Bushism.

2010s

2020s

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://etext.virginia.edu/journals/EH/EH35/onuf1.html Thomas Jefferson, Federalist Papers. Peter S. Onuf
  2. News: Frank Moraga . Everybody, let's play nice . Ventura County Star . February 8, 2009 . May 26, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080709013551/http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/feb/08/everybody-lets-play-nice/ . July 9, 2008 . mdy-all .
  3. http://americancivilwar.com/north/lincoln.html Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Civil War Speech
  4. Encyclopedia: Smoke-Filled Room . May 27, 2007 . 2005 . Chicago Historical Society . Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago.
  5. Web site: "Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself": FDR's First Inaugural Address . History Matters . February 13, 2013.
  6. http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/fdr-infamy.htm President Franklin Roosevelt Speech For a Declaration of War
  7. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/filmmore/reference/primary/macspeech02.html The American Experience | MacArthur | MacArthur's Speeches
  8. http://www.presidentsusa.net/1952slogan.html I Like Ike
  9. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E6DB153BF935A15752C1A9669C8B63 Are You Now or Have You Ever? – The New York Times
  10. News: Rott . Nathan . 'Ask Not...': JFK's Words Still Inspire 50 Years Later . April 19, 2022 . NPR.org . January 18, 2011 . en.
  11. http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/nixon.htm The History Place – Impeachment: Richard Nixon
  12. News: Perlstein . Rick . 1964 Republican Convention: Revolution From the Right . Smithsonian . August 2008 . February 13, 2013 . dead . http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20081023104558/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/1964-republican-convention.html . October 23, 2008 . mdy-all .
  13. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/puch/1998/00000097/00000004/00119367 IngentaConnect Why only Nixon could go to China
  14. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/111873-1.htm The Washington Post
  15. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/voodooeconomics.asp Explaining 'Voodoo Economics'
  16. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/peopleevents/e_1980.html American Experience | Jimmy Carter | People & Events
  17. https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2006/spch042706psa.htm SEC Speech: Remarks Before the Investment Adviser Association
  18. http://uwcr.rso.wisc.edu/quotes.html UW-Madison College Republicans – Quotes
  19. Web site: Los Angeles 1984. Swedish Olympic Committee. March 7, 2007. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061230123107/http://www.sok.se/inenglish/losangeles1984.4.18ea16851076df63622800011008.html. December 30, 2006. mdy-all.
  20. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8972606 A Political Sidestep: 'Mistakes Were Made' : NPR
  21. http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/wall.asp Ronald Reagan-Tear Down this Wall
  22. Web site: Oxford Dictionaries – Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar. https://web.archive.org/web/20030204213218/http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/quotations/phrasefable/visionthing/?view=uk. dead. February 4, 2003. March 12, 2015.
  23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/9/newsid_3655000/3655368.stm BBC on This Day | 9 | 1988: Bush wins with 'no new taxes' promise
  24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7gpgXNWYI YouTube – Lloyd Bentsen puts down Dan Quayle
  25. Web site: Vote for the crook. November 16, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20120925004604/http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2011/12/175duke.html. September 25, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
  26. http://www.da.wvu.edu/archives/991310/news/991310,05,02.html The Daily Athenaeum Interactive
  27. News: THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: New York; Clinton Admits Experiment With Marijuana in 1960's. Gwen Ifill. March 30, 1992. The New York Times. May 26, 2008.
  28. http://www.thisblogrules.com/2010/12/top-twenty-worst-political-slogans.html Top 20 Worst Political Slogans
  29. News: THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: The Democrats -- Clinton and Bush Compete to Be Champion of Change; Democrat Fights Perceptions of Bush Gain. Michael. Kelly. The New York Times. October 31, 1992.
  30. News: BBC on this day: 1998: Clinton denies affair with intern . BBC News . May 26, 2008 . January 26, 1998.
  31. News: Timothy Noah . September 13, 1998 . Bill Clinton and the Meaning of "Is" . Slate . February 13, 2013.
  32. 2012-07-18 . The Rise of Romney's "You Didn't Build That" Meme . 2022-11-17 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
  33. Web site: Franke-Ruta . Garance . 2013-08-02 . The GOP's Totally Reactive Reaction to the War on Women . 2022-11-17 . The Atlantic . en.
  34. Web site: Abdullah . Halimah . 2012-10-17 . 'Binders,' cooking and equal pay: Did Romney undo gains with women voters? CNN Politics . 2022-11-17 . CNN . en.
  35. News: June 12, 2021 . What is Black Lives Matter and what are the aims? . BBC News . December 31, 2021.
  36. News: Izadi . Elahe . December 9, 2014 . 'I can't breathe.' Eric Garner's last words are 2014's most notable quote, according to a Yale librarian. . The Washington Post . live . June 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180928152631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/12/09/i-cant-breathe-eric-garners-last-words-are-2014s-most-notable-quote-according-to-yale-librarian/ . September 28, 2018.
  37. Web site: Trump attacks McCain: 'I like people who weren't captured'. .
  38. News: Reilly. Katie. Read Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Remarks on Trump Supporters. January 23, 2017. TIME.com. January 22, 2017.
  39. News: 'Deplorable' and proud: Some Trump supporters embrace the label . . William . Cummings . September 12, 2016.
  40. Web site: Cummings . William . 'But my emails': Hillary Clinton claps back after report reveals Comey used Gmail . 2022-11-17 . USA TODAY . en-US.
  41. Web site: Kurtz . Judy . 2022-08-09 . Clinton plugs 'But Her Emails' merch after FBI raids Trump home for records . 2022-11-17 . The Hill . en-US.
  42. News: Reagan still draining the swamp (March 12, 1983). November 15, 2016. Chicago Tribune. March 12, 1983.
  43. News: Garcia. Eric. A History of 'Draining the Swamp'. November 15, 2016. Roll Call. October 18, 2016.
  44. News: Espo. David. Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'. November 15, 2016. The Washington Post. October 6, 2006.
  45. News: Allison. Bill. Trump Rhetoric Fails to Damp K-Street Hopes of Renaissance. November 15, 2016. Bloomberg. November 10, 2016.
  46. News: Wallach. Philip. What Trump Can Learn From Jimmy Carter's Failure to 'Drain the Swamp'. November 15, 2016. Fortune. November 15, 2016.
  47. News: Harrington. Rebecca. Here's what Trump means when he says 'drain the swamp' — even though it's not an accurate metaphor. November 15, 2016. Business Insider. November 11, 2016.
  48. Web site: 'Nasty': A Feminist History. October 12, 2016. Garber, Megan. The Atlantic.
  49. Web site: How 'Nasty Woman' Became A Viral Call For Solidarity. The Huffington Post. Gray, Emma. October 20, 2016.
  50. Web site: Britzky . Haley . 2017-07-09 . Everything Trump has called "FAKE NEWS" . 2022-11-17 . Axios . en.
  51. News: 'Nevertheless, she persisted' becomes new battle cry after McConnell silences Elizabeth Warren. .
  52. Web site: "Nevertheless, she persisted" - U.S. women ink battle cry with tattoos. Thomson Reuters. Foundation.
  53. Web site: LaFrance . Adrienne . 2019-01-14 . Six Hours and Three Minutes of Internet Chaos . 2022-11-17 . The Atlantic . en.
  54. Web site: Dwyer . Colin . November 7, 2018 . 'Rainbow Wave': How Did The Record Class Of LGBTQ Nominees Fare? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230308183010/https://www.npr.org/2018/11/07/665011220/rainbow-wave-how-did-the-record-class-of-lgbtq-nominees-fare . March 8, 2023 . March 7, 2023 . NPR.
  55. News: Branigin . Anne . November 11, 2022 . A 'rainbow wave' of candidates made history. What's next for them? . . live . March 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221119081000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/11/11/lgbtq-midterms-2022-candidates/ . November 19, 2022.
  56. Web site: November 10, 2022 . 436 LGBTQ Candidates Won in the 2022 General Election, 100 More than in 2020; 60% Win Rate . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315105341/https://victoryfund.org/news/436-lgbtq-candidates-won-in-the-2022-general-election-100-more-than-in-2020-60-win-rate/ . 2023-03-15 . 2023-03-27 . LGBTQ+ Victory Fund . en-US.
  57. Web site: O'Kane. Caitlin. September 30, 2020. "Shut up, man": First debate between Biden and Trump devolves into personal jabs. 2021-05-06. www.cbsnews.com. en-US.
  58. Web site: 2020-09-30 . Read the full transcript from the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump . 2021-05-06 . USA TODAY . en-US.
  59. News: Kuznia . Rob . Stop the Steal's massive disinformation campaign connected to Roger Stone . CNN . November 14, 2020 . November 14, 2020 . November 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201114224241/https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/business/stop-the-steal-disinformation-campaign-invs/index.html . live .
  60. News: Davis . Wynne . Simon . Scott . 2021-10-31 . Here's what 'Let's Go, Brandon' actually means and how it made its way to Congress . en . . 2022-11-17.