# Patton on liberal politicians **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 8, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340 "2014-06-08T16:18:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/1 "2014-06-08T16:18:29Z")
Did George S. Patton say ‘Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politicians.’? I see a lot of people posting it, but I haven’t found anything that cites when and where he said it, or gives evidence that he did not say it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/2 "2014-06-08T16:33:18Z")
First appeared in 1982 in a book called [The Unknown Patton](http://www.amazon.com/The-Unknown-Patton-Charles-Province/dp/1442159251#reader_1442159251). It’s a completely unsourced quote (as is the whole book) which appears nowhere else. [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new\_york\_city/entry/politicians\_are\_the\_lowest\_form\_of\_life\_on\_earth/](http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/politicians_are_the_lowest_form_of_life_on_earth/) ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/3 "2014-06-08T16:39:09Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > First appeared in 1982 in a book… And it really seems like a 1982 kind of thing to say… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/4 "2014-06-08T16:41:54Z")
Right, in the time frame he lived, would the wording used even have been “Liberal Democrats” to begin with? It does have the strong whiff of a retroactive attribution. Not that we should lend much weight to the opinion of Old Blood’n’Guts on anything other than combined-arms tactics, in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/5 "2014-06-08T16:46:29Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Not that we should lend much weight to the opinion of Old Blood’n’Guts on anything other than combined-arms tactics, in any case. as opposed to politicians who gain their jobs based on a popularity contest? ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/6 "2014-06-08T16:48:51Z")
In the 1982 books introduction, it states; “While not all source material was taken literally into quotations or even utilized as pure textual content, they were used rather as background data to supply a feeling or under- standing of a situation prior to writing about it.” What the hell does that mean? http://delta\_1\_41\_inf.tripod.com/images/unknown\_patton.pdf ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/7 "2014-06-08T16:51:50Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > What the hell does that mean? That all quotes are 100% true. Including those which are entirely made up. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/8 "2014-06-08T16:53:49Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > That all quotes are 100% true. Including those which are entirely made up. That is what I thought it meant. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/9 "2014-06-08T16:55:22Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > as opposed to politicians who gain their jobs based on a popularity contest? I don’t give \*them \*much credence about combined arms tactics, no. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/10 "2014-06-08T17:17:17Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > First appeared in 1982 in a book called [The Unknown Patton](http://www.amazon.com/The-Unknown-Patton-Charles-Province/dp/1442159251#reader_1442159251). It’s a completely unsourced quote (as is the whole book) which appears nowhere else. > > ["Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth"](http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/politicians_are_the_lowest_form_of_life_on_earth/) Was going to report that, but you got ahead of me, besides that problem of the source not being clear, the context does not show a nice picture: just before that quote we have these morsels of wisdom: > **[The Unknown Patton](https://books.google.com/books?ei=qpaUU7nrN9i3yAS08oDoBA&id=yXshAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22The%2Bunknown%2BPatton%22%2BCharles%2Bm%2Bprovince%2Bliberal&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=liberal)** > [@](#): > > The noise created against me is only the means by which the Jews and Communists are attempting, and with good success, to implement a further dismemberment of Germany. > > The whole damned world is going communist. > > It is interesting to note that everything for which I have been criticized in the handling of the Germans has subsequently been adopted by our Military Government. I stated that if we took all of the small Nazi’s out of every job, chaos would result, and it did. The Military Government the other day announced that from two to five percent of Nazi’s would be permitted to stay in government offices. The problem was that at the time George wanted to see a new war to start against the Russians, with Nazis helping as “new allies” his loud opinions were a factor on why they took the third army from him. And then his tirade against the Jews is very ugly considering that by then the evidence of the holocaust was in front of faces like his. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/11 "2014-06-08T18:41:21Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I don’t give \*them \*much credence about combined arms tactics, no. popularity is not a reason to hire someone. Politicians are people who acquire their jobs through no fault of their own and they generally have the skills to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/12 "2014-06-08T19:04:35Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > popularity is not a reason to hire someone. > > Politicians are people who acquire their jobs through no fault of their own and they generally have the skills to prove it. How do you imagine hiring works? A group of people look over the applicants for a job and then choose the one they think is the best. And there’s a word for somebody who people prefer. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/13 "2014-06-08T19:08:28Z")
This book, _The Unknown Patton_, a link to which is given in post #6, appears to be a real mess. The part which the quotation comes from is on pages 32 and 57 of that book. The same quotation appears twice, which is part of how confused the book is. It appears that the author isn’t even trying to source anything he’s writing about. It appears that he’s just saying that he thinks that this is the overall philosophy of Patton, and he doesn’t have to provide a source for anything attributed to Patton. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/14 "2014-06-08T19:45:30Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > as opposed to politicians who gain their jobs based on a popularity contest? > [@Magiver](#): > > popularity is not a reason to hire someone. > > Politicians are people who acquire their jobs through no fault of their own and they generally have the skills to prove it. So you are opposed to the very principle of democracy, huh? That’s good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/15 "2014-06-08T19:54:15Z")
I am with Macgiver. Democracy sucks. Unfortunately everything else sucks worse… Perhaps we should start cloning our leaders? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/16 "2014-06-08T20:24:07Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > popularity is not a reason to hire someone. > > Politicians are people who acquire their jobs through no fault of their own and they generally have the skills to prove it. Do you think Patton actually made that quote? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/17 "2014-06-08T20:33:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So you are opposed to the very principle of democracy, huh? That’s good to know. Pointing out the the limitations of democracy, politicians or politics is not quite the same as opposing democracy. He could just as easily have pointed out the dangers of eating chocolate without being against chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/18 "2014-06-08T22:17:54Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So you are opposed to the very principle of democracy, huh? That’s good to know. That’s not what I implied and you know it. There are no skill requirements at all for a politician beyond popularity. None. And it shows. We’re drowning in debt and money is still routinely voted down a rabbit hole as if there is no tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/19 "2014-06-08T22:26:43Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That’s not what I implied and you know it. There are no skill requirements at all for a politician beyond popularity. None. And it shows. We’re drowning in debt and money is still routinely voted down a rabbit hole as if there is no tomorrow. We are? Funny, that’s not what the budget reporting says. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340/20 "2014-06-08T22:37:56Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > We are? Funny, that’s not what the budget reporting says. Really? One relatively good year out of the last 7 or 8 is not a satisfactory budget report. And relatively being the all important word. A debt of 16 trillion(in reality its higher) is not offset by one year of reasonable deficits. Best to go through the entire economic cycle before judging the health of US debt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patton-on-liberal-politicians/690340.md?page=2)