--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never would have believed as a…" description: "\"I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate that the U.S. government could buy GM without a hearing, with no vote, yes or no. There ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/mike-johanns-19487_believed_i-never-would-have-believed-as-a-candida_1588362.png" --- # I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S… ![“I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate that the U.S. government could buy GM without a hearing, with no vote, yes or no. There are billions and billions of dollars at stake here.” quote by Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/mike-johanns-19487_believed_i-never-would-have-believed-as-a-candida_1588362.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/mike-johanns-19487_believed_i-never-would-have-believed-as-a-candida_1588362.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/mike-johanns-19487_believed_i-never-would-have-believed-as-a-candida_1588362.png) > “I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate that the U.S. government could buy GM without a hearing, with no vote, yes or no. There are billions and billions of dollars at stake here.” [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The government can bypass standard oversight to approve large deals, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in high‑stakes financial decisions. **In simple terms:** Govt can skip hearings for big deals. Key Takeaway Demand transparency. Themes politics finance government Mood critical concerned Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - legislative hearings - corporate mergers - public budgeting - policy reform Key Concepts regulation accountability public trust Questions to Reflect On - Why is oversight important for large transactions? - How can citizens ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Political pressure may still limit oversight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Candidate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-candidate-6014519/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Billions Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions-dollars/) [Buy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy/) [Candidate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candidate/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Gm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gm/) [Gm Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gm-hearing-6014518/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Buy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-buy-3822139/) [Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing/) [Here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Senate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senate/) [Stake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stake/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [Yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yes/) [Yes Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yes-billions-6014520/) ## Related quotes > [One way to ease liquidity for banks is that the government can buy all highly rated securities held by the banks. Every single bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdul-aziz-al-ghurair/one-way-to-ease-liquidity-for-banks-is-that-the-government-can-buy/) [Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdul-aziz-al-ghurair/) > [Although the reasons for Michigan's malaise are varied, one big reason is our state's almost uniquely uncompetitive tax structure, which one General Motors official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bouchard/although-the-reasons-for-michigan-s-malaise-are-varied-one-big-reason/) [Mike Bouchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-bouchard/) > [The Obama administration took rapid and decisive action to restructure GM and Chrysler. Within a fairly short period of time these companies were working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-ligon/the-obama-administration-took-rapid-and-decisive-action-to/) [Austin Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-ligon/) > [It's time to get the FDA to reverse its 1994 decision not to label GM foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/it-s-time-to-get-the-fda-to-reverse-its-1994-decision-not-to-label-gm/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [GM has never been about feeding the world or tackling environmental problems. It is and has always been about control of the global food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-goldsmith/gm-has-never-been-about-feeding-the-world-or-tackling-environmental/) [Zac Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-goldsmith/) > [“It takes many sheep to satisfy one wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/it-takes-many-sheep-to-satisfy-one-wolf/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Ask yourself what a man without guile might do to your body in the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/ask-yourself-what-a-man-without-guile-might-do-to-your-body-in-the/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [My friends call me 'George,' 'GM,' or 'Georgia.' But most people who know me from when I was little call me 'Georgia May.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-may-jagger/my-friends-call-me-george-gm-or-georgia-but-most-people-who-know-me/) [Georgia May Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-may-jagger/) > [Imminent GM bankruptcy was always fiction, created by Wall Street and the media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lutz/imminent-gm-bankruptcy-was-always-fiction-created-by-wall-street-and/) [Robert Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lutz/) > [I was willing to go just about anywhere in the U.S. for the best job - except New York City. Of course, I received…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wagoner/i-was-willing-to-go-just-about-anywhere-in-the-u-s-for-the-best-job/) [Rick Wagoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wagoner/) > [The general manager is kind of like the step into darkness when you reach the top of the league. As GM, you're responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastianich/the-general-manager-is-kind-of-like-the-step-into-darkness-when-you/) [Joe Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastianich/) > [As a civil servant in charge of the government's Strategy Unit, I brought in many people from outside government, including academia and science, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-mulgan/as-a-civil-servant-in-charge-of-the-government-s-strategy-unit-i/) [Geoff Mulgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-mulgan/) > [“What is art, if not an excuse to be adventurous?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/what-is-art-if-not-an-excuse-to-be-adventurous/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [We don't ever want IT to be the thing that holds GM back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/we-don-t-ever-want-it-to-be-the-thing-that-holds-gm-back/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Honestly, I can't tell you what I what I would be doing if I wasn't chairman of GM, because this is all I've done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wagoner/honestly-i-can-t-tell-you-what-i-what-i-would-be-doing-if-i-wasn-t/) [Rick Wagoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wagoner/) ## More by Mike Johanns > [Growing up on a dairy farm, you certainly learn discipline and a commitment to purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/growing-up-on-a-dairy-farm-you-certainly-learn-discipline-and-a/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [One of the things that I always say about bioterrorism, whether it's ourselves at the federal level, folks at the state level, or folks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/one-of-the-things-that-i-always-say-about-bioterrorism-whether-it-s/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [There is a tremendous amount of support for the approach we have taken, which again is to base our decisions on risk analysis and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/there-is-a-tremendous-amount-of-support-for-the-approach-we-have/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [The president has been a true friend of the ag industry, because he continues to invest large amounts of money at a time when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/the-president-has-been-a-true-friend-of-the-ag-industry-because-he/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [Fortunately, when it comes to meat and poultry, I have the really wonderful situation of having producers and processors that produce and process a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/fortunately-when-it-comes-to-meat-and-poultry-i-have-the-really/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [I ended up being the governor of a very ag state, Nebraska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/i-ended-up-being-the-governor-of-a-very-ag-state-nebraska/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [People enjoy our meat and our poultry, as I do as a consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/people-enjoy-our-meat-and-our-poultry-as-i-do-as-a-consumer/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [In beef trade issues, we base our decisions upon science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/in-beef-trade-issues-we-base-our-decisions-upon-science/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [This president has said this has to be a priority for our nation, protecting our food supply from terrorist acts, so he continues to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/this-president-has-said-this-has-to-be-a-priority-for-our-nation/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [In this day and age when we do so much business in foreign trade, we need the ability to identify trace an animal very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/in-this-day-and-age-when-we-do-so-much-business-in-foreign-trade-we/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [The world is really figuring BSE out, and that's positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/the-world-is-really-figuring-bse-out-and-that-s-positive/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [We asked ourselves and the world to base decisions on good science, and I really believe the United States can be the leader in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/we-asked-ourselves-and-the-world-to-base-decisions-on-good-science/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [We need to always be vigilant on the sanitary issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/we-need-to-always-be-vigilant-on-the-sanitary-issues/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [The big producer is going to figure out how to deal with whatever the rules are, but the little guy who is running a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/the-big-producer-is-going-to-figure-out-how-to-deal-with-whatever-the/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) > [There is a certain amount of momentum that is achieved when one country after another reopens their borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johanns/there-is-a-certain-amount-of-momentum-that-is-achieved-when-one/) [Mike Johanns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) [Explore all 32 Mike Johanns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johanns/) ## More Believed quotes > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [“I didn't know if I believed in 'happily ever after' anymore. I mean, I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, let alone for forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kate-strohm/i-didn-t-know-if-i-believed-in-happily-ever-after-anymore-i-mean-i/) [Stephanie Kate Strohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kate-strohm/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [Aaron Spelling always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, he knew what the public wanted to see. He was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/aaron-spelling-always-had-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-pop-culture-he/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) [Mishack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishack/) > [“I wish I believed him. He's looking at me like he can see where I begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcnamara/i-wish-i-believed-him-he-s-looking-at-me-like-he-can-see-where-i-begin/) [Amy McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcnamara/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old. I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sullivan-stapleton/i-never-believed-i-d-have-a-six-pack-especially-not-at-35-years-old-i/) [Sullivan Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sullivan-stapleton/) > [“For a moment, I believed you.” He ordered me, dryly, recovering his usual poise again. He does not only have a selective hearing, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-rogers/for-a-moment-i-believed-you-he-ordered-me-dryly-recovering-his-usual/) [Tionne Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-rogers/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I felt uneasy, but sometimes, like I said before, I believed in Col. North and there was a very solid and very valid reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawn-hall/i-felt-uneasy-but-sometimes-like-i-said-before-i-believed-in-col/) [Fawn Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawn-hall/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) [Browse all 1,214 Believed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never would have believed as a candidate for the U.S. Senate that the U.S. government could buy GM without a hearing, with no vote, yes or no. 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