The quotable governor
Many times in his long political career, Ed Rendell has made waves with his words. Below are some examples from his gubernatorial years.
Many times in his long political career, Ed Rendell has made waves with his words. Below are some examples from his gubernatorial years.
"They're cowards. It's horrible. Everyone is afraid. If tomorrow we could cure cancer if they raised taxes, they wouldn't raise them."
- In 2004 after Pennsylvania legislators rejected a proposal that would have allowed Pittsburgh to enact a commuter tax
"I need the cooperation of the legislature. . . . You have to kiss a little butt."
- To reporters' questions about why he signed the legislature's 2005 pay raise into law
"You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African American candidate."
- To the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on why some Democrats would favor Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he supported, over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania's 2008 presidential primary
"Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19, 20 hours a day to it."
- On then-Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano's being named secretary of homeland security in December 2008; he later explained that his remarks, caught on an open microphone, meant he and other governors worked long hours and had "no life"
"Cozen was a big contributor, so it didn't take Jesse to have suck with me."
- To Inquirer questions last January about the hiring of his son, Jesse, by lawyer Stephen Cozen's firm when Cozen was asking the state to extend the casino license for a client, Foxwoods; Rendell said "suck" had meant only that he socialized with major campaign donors such as Cozen and took their calls
Are voters "going to turn the reins of the Congress over to these people who are more and more dominated by the whacko right?"
- At a Democratic rally in Philadelphia in September
"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China, do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium . . . and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."
- On 97.5 The Fan last month after an Eagles game was postponed because of snow
"Those people would lose that money anyway. . . . You're simpletons. You're idiots if you don't get that."
- To 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl on how Pennsylvania's casinos affect addictive gamblers; he later blamed Stahl's producers for badgering him during the interview, which aired last Sunday
