Edmund Muskie Quotations

We have ignored this cancer for so long that the romance of environmental concern is already fading in the shadow of the grim realities of lakes, rivers and bays where all forms of life have been smothered by untreated wastes, and oceans which no longer provide us with food.

Looking at yourself through the media is like looking at one of those rippled mirrors in an amusement park.

You have the God-given right to kick the government around - don't hesitate to do so.

In the heat of our campaigns, we have all become accustomed to a little anger and exaggeration. Yet, on the whole, our political process has served us well.

Can we afford clean water? Can we afford rivers and lakes and streams and oceans which continue to make possible life on this planet? Can we afford life itself? Those questions were never asked as we destroyed the waters of our nation, and they deserve no answers as we finally move to restore and renew them. These questions answer themselves.

High quality water is more than the dream of the conservationists, more than a political slogan; high quality water, in the right quantity at the right place at the right time, is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth.

In Maine we have a saying that there's no point in speaking unless you can improve on silence.

Do not speak unless you can improve the silence.

Too often in the past, members of Congress have won re-election with a two-part strategy: Talk like Scrooge on the campaign trail. Vote like Santa Claus on the Senate floor.

You know, I never have been a stagnant kind of individual. I've been in the Senate 22 years. I'm still stimulated by the challenges that it offers, but here's a whole new arena in which to deal, whole new set of challenges, whole new kind of authority, a chance for growth, and how could I say no?