Molly Ivins Quotes

Powerful Molly Ivins for Daily Growth

About Molly Ivins

Molly Becker IVINS (1944-2007), an influential American journalist, political commentator, and bestselling author, was born in Monterey, Louisiana on November 30, 1944. Raised in a liberal household, she developed an early appreciation for politics, satire, and storytelling. Ivins attended Smith College and later received her Master's Degree from the University of Minnesota. Her career began as a reporter at the Texas Journal in Austin, where she would spend most of her life. Known for her biting wit and incisive commentary on politics, Ivins quickly rose to prominence with her column "The Best Little Agony Column in the Biggest State" in the Texas Observer. This work would later be syndicated across the nation, appearing in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. In 1982, she published "Molly Ivins: A Rebel Handbook," a collection of her columns that showcased her unique blend of humor, insight, and political analysis. This book solidified her status as a prominent voice in American politics. In the following years, Ivins authored several other books, including "Bushwhacked: Life in George's America" (2000) and "Who Let the Dogma Out? The Epistles of Molly Ivins" (2003). Throughout her career, Ivins was recognized for her contributions to journalism. She received several awards, including the George Polk Award for commentary in 1976 and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. Sadly, she passed away in 2007 due to complications from metastatic breast cancer. Molly Ivins remains a significant figure in American journalism, remembered for her sharp intellect, unapologetic style, and commitment to the truth. Her work continues to inspire journalists and political commentators alike.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"You have to decide who you give a damn about, and then care so hard that it might break your heart."

This quote emphasizes the importance of empathy and compassion in our relationships with others. Molly Ivins suggests that we should invest emotionally in those we care about deeply, and this investment can sometimes be painful due to the vulnerability it creates. Essentially, she encourages us to genuinely care for others, and such empathy can lead to a more meaningful and connected life.


"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."

This quote suggests that politics, like prostitution, involves manipulation and bargaining for power or influence. The comparison implies that politicians, like prostitutes, use their skills to persuade others for personal gain. However, it's important to note that this is a satirical commentary on the perceived negative aspects of politics rather than a moral judgment. It highlights the idea that both professions involve the art of negotiation and influence-seeking.


"Good things come to those who wait... Great things come to those who get off their butts and make them happen."

This quote emphasizes that while good things might come to those who are patient, truly great things often require active effort and initiative. In other words, it encourages us to take action rather than just waiting for opportunities to arrive; we must create our own success by getting up and making things happen.


"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."

The quote by Molly Ivins underscores the inherent capacity for human beings to make poor decisions or ignore obvious truths, often referred to as "stupidity". It serves as a reminder that people, regardless of their intelligence, education, or background, can still exhibit behaviors that defy common sense and reason. This insight is crucial because understanding this aspect of humanity allows us to prepare for and mitigate the consequences of such actions. The quote encourages vigilance, critical thinking, and patience in navigating human interactions, as well as fostering a sense of humility when faced with irrational behavior or decisions.


"It is a fact that everyone is born a number of years after a necessary series of events has already taken place."

This quote emphasizes that our individual lives, or births, occur as part of an ongoing sequence of events in history. It suggests that we are not the first, but rather the continuation of what came before us. In other words, our existence is built upon the foundation of previous experiences and events that have unfolded in time.


The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.

- Molly Ivins

Never, How, Tend, Worshipped

It really is possible to disagree with someone's policies without hating them. Grown-ups can do that.

- Molly Ivins

Disagree, Someone, Grown-Ups, Hating

If you grew up white before the civil rights movement anywhere in the South, all grown-ups lied. They'd tell you stuff like, 'Don't drink out of the colored fountain, dear, it's dirty.' In the white part of town, the white fountain was always covered with chewing gum and the marks of grubby kids' paws, and the colored fountain was always clean.

- Molly Ivins

Fountain, Before, South, Grown-Ups

It's a monstrous idea to put people in prison and keep them there.

- Molly Ivins

Idea, Keep, Them, Monstrous

One seldom expects the country's president to adequately note the passing of a rocker, but Jimmy Carter's assessment of Elvis Presley's appeal - 'energy, rebelliousness and good humor' - is remarkably close to the mark.

- Molly Ivins

Country, Note, Rocker, Remarkably

I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were 'German dogs.' They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds.

- Molly Ivins

However, Patriotic, German, Bullies

It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America.

- Molly Ivins

Country, Established, Read, Extend

Even for southerners, Arkansans are amazingly friendly and extend hospitality to all strangers with astonishing openness. You couldn't find a pretension in that state if you hunted from Jonesboro to El Dorado.

- Molly Ivins

Friendly, Southerners, Extend

Even I felt sorry for Richard Nixon when he left; there's nothing you can do about being born liberal - fish gotta swim, and hearts gotta bleed.

- Molly Ivins

Gotta, Richard, Nixon, Bleed

On a personal note: I have contracted an outstanding case of breast cancer, from which I intend to recover. I don't need get-well cards, but I would like the beloved women readers to do something for me: Go. Get. The. Damn. Mammogram. Done.

- Molly Ivins

Cards, Note, Would, Contracted

In most legislatures, punctilious attention to correct usage is considered elitist. The word 'government,' for example, is normally pronounced 'gummint'; bureaucracy is 'bureaucacy'; fiscal comes out 'physical,' and one moves not to suspend the rules, but to 'suppend.'

- Molly Ivins

Correct, Considered, Usage, Elitist

If you really wanted to settle down the Middle East, if what you wanted was change in the Middle East, it is perfectly obvious that the first step is resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

- Molly Ivins

Change, Middle, Perfectly, Resolving

We need to reform the political system, or we'll lose the democracy. I don't think it's that hard. It doesn't take rocket science. We've done it before successfully at the presidential level and tried it several places at the state level.

- Molly Ivins

Rocket, Before, Several, Rocket Science

Should a girl like me, in whom the milk of human kindness flows copiously for everyone, from protein-shy Hottentots to the glandular obese, actually aim a few swift boots at the prone form of Sen. Phil Gramm? Nah. But it's tempting.

- Molly Ivins

Aim, Human Kindness, Flows, Obese

The uproar of the late '60s - the antiwar movement, black riots, angry women. It was a wonderful time.

- Molly Ivins

Black, Late, Antiwar, Riots

Right before the Bush inauguration, many women were greatly reassured when Laura said of Roe v. Wade on the 'Today' show, 'No, I don't think it should be overturned.' Three days later, her husband reimposed the 'global gag rule' on groups abroad that receive U.S. funding for family planning.

- Molly Ivins

Show, Before, Bush, Family Planning

Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair's-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick slightly less awful than the other. But it does raise the question: Why bother?

- Molly Ivins

Voting, Other, Slightly, Hopeless

A teenage foot that never tapped to 'Heartbreak Hotel' in the '50s probably belonged to a hopeless grind.

- Molly Ivins

Grind, Never, Heartbreak, Hopeless

From orphanages to space colonies, it was all shallow but endearingly enthusiastic futurism. Gingrich was the kind of person who read a book or two on something and would then be quite afire as to how this was going to fit into some shining future.

- Molly Ivins

Book, Two, Some, Shining

There is more hooey spread about the Second Amendment. It says quite clearly that guns are for those who form part of a well-regulated militia, i.e., the armed forces including the National Guard. The reasons for keeping them away from everyone else get clearer by the day.

- Molly Ivins

Guns, Amendment, Reasons, Militia

Fourteen-year-old boys are not part of a well-regulated militia. Members of wacky religious cults are not part of a well-regulated militia. Permitting unregulated citizens to have guns is destroying the security of this free state.

- Molly Ivins

Guns, Religious, Part, Militia

The Federal Reserve system obviously doesn't work anymore - they keep lowering the federal discount rate, and all that happens is that the banks are making a fortune, and the old folks' CDs are getting chewed up.

- Molly Ivins

Fortune, Making, Banks, Reserve

The greatest moral leader of my lifetime was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose private life does not bear close examination.

- Molly Ivins

Leader, King, Private, Luther

One thing I have learned from Johnny Faulk, Texas, and life, is that since you don't always win, you got to learn to enjoy just fightin' the good fight.

- Molly Ivins

Learn, Always, Learned, Johnny

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.

- Molly Ivins

Next, United, United States, Next Time

All my life, I've been sort of a professional optimist, full of good cheer about matters political and journalistic. I always thought I'd get older and become an unnaturally cheerful old fart. But it's not happening.

- Molly Ivins

My Life, Thought, Been, Good Cheer

The trouble with blaming powerless people is that although it's not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point. Poor people do not shut down factories... Poor people didn't decide to use 'contract employees' because they cost less and don't get any benefits.

- Molly Ivins

Benefits, Shut, Use, Blaming

Texas is still resistant to Howard Johnsons, interstate highways and some forms of phoniness. It is the place least likely to become a replica of everyplace else. It's authentically awful, comic, and weirdly charming, all at the same time.

- Molly Ivins

Some, Weirdly, Replica, Resistant

I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle.

- Molly Ivins

Air, Been, Being, Newt

Am I the only person covering politics who ever noticed that Newt Gingrich is actually a nincompoop?

- Molly Ivins

Politics, Noticed, Covering, Newt

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