--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill…" description: "\"Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill Clinton would take the news that one woman in ten, say, has the power to resist his blandishments by deadly force..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/l-neil-smith-3636_bills_imagine-how-a-teddy-kennedy-or-a-bill-cl_2646384.png" --- # Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill Clinton would take… ![“Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill Clinton would take the news that one woman in ten, say, has the power to resist his blandishments by deadly force, and you'll get a perfect idea of how a Charles Schumer or a George Bush feels about armed taxpayers.” quote by L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/l-neil-smith-3636_bills_imagine-how-a-teddy-kennedy-or-a-bill-cl_2646384.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/l-neil-smith-3636_bills_imagine-how-a-teddy-kennedy-or-a-bill-cl_2646384.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/l-neil-smith-3636_bills_imagine-how-a-teddy-kennedy-or-a-bill-cl_2646384.png) > “Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill Clinton would take the news that one woman in ten, say, has the power to resist his blandishments by deadly force, and you'll get a perfect idea of how a Charles Schumer or a George Bush feels about armed taxpayers.” [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote uses hyperbole to compare political leaders' reactions to a woman’s resistance, illustrating fear of armed citizens. **In simple terms:** Leaders fear armed citizens, using exaggerated analogies. Key Takeaway Recognize the tension between liberty and authority. Themes politics freedom armed citizens leadership fear Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical political When to use this quote - elections - public policy - civil discourse - media commentary Key Concepts authoritarianism civil liberty Questions to Reflect On - How does armed resistance affect democratic societies? - What balance should exist between personal liberty and public safety? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify complex political dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armed Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armed-taxpayers-2313117/) [Bills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bills/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-schumer-435283/) [Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinton/) [Deadly force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadly-force/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Feels Armed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels-armed-2313118/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Kennedy Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kennedy-clinton-2280700/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [One woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-woman/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxpayers/) [Teddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teddy/) [Teddy Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teddy-kennedy-1239801/) [Ten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten/) ## Related quotes > [Whether it's Jack Kennedy or Bill Clinton or others, the personal lives do come into play, and people do judge you for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/whether-it-s-jack-kennedy-or-bill-clinton-or-others-the-personal/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [This week's winner for best comedy line about the war is New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer. Referring to - well, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/this-week-s-winner-for-best-comedy-line-about-the-war-is-new-york/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Government can only do two things: It can beat people up and kill them. Or it can threaten to do so. When it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/government-can-only-do-two-things-it-can-beat-people-up-and-kill-them/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Teddy Kennedy rose to become a liberal lion by collaborating with Republicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/teddy-kennedy-rose-to-become-a-liberal-lion-by-collaborating-with/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [Just by coincidence, Senator Teddy Kennedy and I, in the last couple of days, after several months of negotiations, have reached an agreement for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/just-by-coincidence-senator-teddy-kennedy-and-i-in-the-last-couple-of/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [When I was in Congress, I worked with Joe Kennedy to rename the Justice Department for Bobby, and when I retired, Teddy Kennedy sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-scarborough/when-i-was-in-congress-i-worked-with-joe-kennedy-to-rename-the/) [Joe Scarborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-scarborough/) > [“The law is that the discharge of a firearm is always the use of “deadly force”. Only time will tell if they will reverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gutmacher/the-law-is-that-the-discharge-of-a-firearm-is-always-the-use-of/) [Jon Gutmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gutmacher/) > [One cannot have a right to life without the right to defend it with deadly force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-montague/one-cannot-have-a-right-to-life-without-the-right-to-defend-it-with/) [Bruce Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-montague/) > [“Deadly force must always be a last resort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/deadly-force-must-always-be-a-last-resort/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [“you can’t use, or even threaten the use of deadly force in a non-deadly force situation – period! You can’t fire a warning shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gutmacher/you-can-t-use-or-even-threaten-the-use-of-deadly-force-in-a-non/) [Jon Gutmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gutmacher/) > [A half century ago Herbert Wechsler could justify the legal right of deadly force self-defense in terms of the "universal judgment that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kates/a-half-century-ago-herbert-wechsler-could-justify-the-legal-right-of/) [Don Kates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kates/) > [Even if the criticism is not always perfectly informed and in some cases I would deem unfair, just the noise, attention, fuss probably keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/even-if-the-criticism-is-not-always-perfectly-informed-and-in-some/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [It's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods. These laws try to fix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/it-s-time-to-question-laws-that-senselessly-expand-the-concept-of/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [The one thing government has which we (you or I or any corporation) DON'T have, is the ability to use deadly force to accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/the-one-thing-government-has-which-we-you-or-i-or-any-corporation-don/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) ## More by L. Neil Smith > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I suggest due process, speedy trials, and public hangings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-suggest-due-process-speedy-trials-and-public-hangings/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/guns-cause-crime-like-flies-cause-garbage/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I have a recurring daymare that when the Glorious People's SWAT Teams smash their way in, most of us - by which I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-have-a-recurring-daymare-that-when-the-glorious-people-s-swat-teams/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I'll remind you all, however, that for government, existence is a privilege, not a right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-ll-remind-you-all-however-that-for-government-existence-is-a/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I propose a Constitutional Amendment providing that, if any public official, elected or appointed, at any level of government, is caught lying to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/i-propose-a-constitutional-amendment-providing-that-if-any-public/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Victim disarmament types are sick, sick people, who'd rather see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose than see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/victim-disarmament-types-are-sick-sick-people-who-d-rather-see-a/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. Government control of the money supply is censorship, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of-communication-conveying-the/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/a-libertarian-is-a-person-who-believes-that-no-one-has-the-right/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [“...occasionally I like carrying raw steel to remind myself of an important lesson. The blade's an extension of the hand, the agent--no pun intended--of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/occasionally-i-like-carrying-raw-steel-to-remind-myself-of-an/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Thanks to guys like Boss Tweed, famous for saying, 'I don't give a damn who does the voting, as long as I do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/thanks-to-guys-like-boss-tweed-famous-for-saying-i-don-t-give-a-damn/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Taxes are a barbaric remnant of ancient times in which early farmers, tied to the land, no longer able to roam freely, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/taxes-are-a-barbaric-remnant-of-ancient-times-in-which-early-farmers/) [L. 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Neil Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## More Bills quotes > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. 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He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Browse all 2,663 Bills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bills/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine how a Teddy Kennedy or a Bill Clinton would take the news that one woman in ten, say, has the power to resist his blandishments by deadly force, and you'll get a perfect idea of how a Charles Schumer or a George Bush feels about armed taxpayers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L. 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