Margaret Thatcher Quotes--Part 2

We have lost a great president, a great American, and a great man, and I have lost a dear friend.

In his lifetime, Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America’s wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk, yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit, for Ronald Reagan also embodied another great cause, what Arnold Bennett once called "the great cause of cheering us all up". His policies had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation, and ultimately, from the very heart of the "evil empire."

Yet his humour often had a purpose beyond humour. In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria one great heart at least remained sane and jocular. They were truly grace under pressure. And perhaps they signified grace of a deeper kind. Ronnie himself certainly believed that he had been given back his life for a purpose. As he told a priest after his recovery, "Whatever time I’ve got left now belongs to the big fella upstairs." And surely, it is hard to deny that Ronald Reagan’s life was providential when we look at what he achieved in the eight years that followed.--An excerpt of Margaret Thatcher's eulogy at President Reagan's funeral

--I am a huge fan of Margaret Thatcher.  I have her two thick books, The Path to Power and The Downing Street Years that she wrote about her life.  I look forward to reading them. 

--I have already done a profile on her and I also did a previous post on her quotes, but this woman is a treasure trove of wisdom.  So, I thought it fitting to do a part two.

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
What we think, we become.
My father always said that.  And I think I am fine.

Margaret Thatcher talking to her husband:

I will never be one of those women who stays silent and pretty on the arm of her husband.  Or remote and alone in the kitchen, doing the washing-up for that matter.  One's life must matter.  Beyond all the cooking and the cleaning and the children, one's life must mean more than that.

Her husband responded:

Thats why I want to marry you, my dear.

Some more short quotes:

Someone must say the un-sayable.

Never be anything other than yourself.

No British soldier will die in vain for the Falklands.

If you take the tough decisions, people will hate you today, but they will love you in generations.

Remarkable Women Profile #1--The Iron Lady--Margaret Thatcher!

Photo Credit: Mike's America

The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.~Margaret Thatcher

I am doing research on some of my favorite women for a class that I will be teaching. I hope to do a profile on each woman.

I started with Sarah Palin and then went to Margaret Thatcher. I will go back to Palin and get a profile done on her, but right now I've immersed myself in all things Thatcher and wanted to do a post. I gave a speech to a Republican Women's club on Monday night, and talked a lot about Thatcher, so its all fresh in my mind.

Ecclesiastes 1 says there is nothing new under the sun. I found that to be so true as I studied Thatcher's life. She was fighting an identical battle in the 70's and 80's that we are fighting today. When she was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, she had this to say:

Now, what is the challenge of our time? I believe...to overcome the country's economic and financial problems and to regain our confidence in Britain and ourselves.

How did Thatcher think Britain could accomplish this? She said, "they must abandon socialism."When she was elected Prime Minister in 1979, she saw it as her role to:

...rescue Great Britain from its 25 year slide toward socialism.

During that election campaign, Thatcher ran on three issues:

1) Taking some of the power away from the Unions 2) Tax Cuts 3) Economic Freedom

What did the liberal from the Labor Party run on?

1) Saying they had created and protected 1.2 million jobs (this sounds familiar, despite the bad economy at the time) 2) A wealth tax for the rich 3) Cutting Defense Spending

It sounds like it is right out of today's newspaper. At that time, Britain responded to Thatcher and rejected socialism.

If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.~Margaret Thatcher

Thatcher Basics:

~~She was born Margaret Roberts on October 13, 1925
~~She grew up in Grantham, above her father's grocery
~~Her family was a very, strict Methodist family
~~By her teens, she said politics was in her bloodstream
~~She was one of the few students that went to Oxford because of her intellect and not because of her wealth
~~She married Denis Thatcher on December 13, 1951
~~She passed her bar exam only 4 months after having her twins (Mark & Carol)
~~She became a member of Parliament on October 20, 1959, exactly a week after her 34th birthday
~~The Soviet Union meant the nickname, "Iron Lady" as an insult, but Thatcher took it proudly
~~She was the first and only woman to become Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of 53 (so far)
~~She was the first woman ever to head the government of a major country in Europe or America
~~She chose her 22 member cabinet in 2 days
~~She got 4-5 hours of sleep a night
~~She won re-election in 1983 by a landslide, 144 seats, the largest margin since 1945
~~In 1984, she escaped a bomb attack meant for her by the IRA

Quotes:

She became an international heroine of the right.~~Anthony Sampson, British commentator

I am not a consensus politician. I am a conviction politician...~~Margaret Thatcher

Friend and foe alike could only watch in fascination, however, as Margaret Thatcher dominated the life of the country and occupied the center of the political arena as no prime minister had done since the wartime days of Winston Churchill.~~Bernard Garfinkel

It was a swift and daring move that reinforced her image of toughness, as well as her total commitment to her policies.~~Garfinkel (talking about her decision to fire moderates from her cabinet in 1981)

Sources:
~~Margaret Thatcher Website
~~The Downing Street Years
~~Madam Prime Minister
~~Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher Quotes

"I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph."--Margaret Thatcher

I opened my radio show today with some Margaret Thatcher quotes. I was verifying that a quote I attributed to her was indeed one of hers and found a goldmine of good stuff. I thought they were good enough to post.

"In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman."

"If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim."

"I seem to smell the stench of appeasement in the air."

"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing."

"If you want to cut your own throat, don't come to me for a bandage."