--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem is not that you can buy a…" description: "\"The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for $10000 but that you can buy a Washington lawyer for $100000.\" — Nicholas Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png" --- # The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for… ![“The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for $10000 but that you can buy a Washington lawyer for $100000.” quote by Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png) > “The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for $10000 but that you can buy a Washington lawyer for $100000.” [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Money influences power, especially in legal representation, more than elected officials. **In simple terms:** Legal influence exceeds political buying. Key Takeaway Advocate for reform. Themes politics law corruption Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - voting - policy advocacy - public awareness Key Concepts campaign finance legal ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can legal costs be limited? - What safeguards exist? A Different Perspective Reform is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buy Congressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-congressman-4157443/) [Buy Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buy-washington-4157445/) [Congressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman/) [Congressman 10000](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman-10000-4157444/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Lawyer 100000](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer-100000-4157442/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Washington Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-lawyer-3120923/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up on a ranch in Walla Walla, Washington. Except for one lawyer, I don't remember anyone in my family being anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/i-grew-up-on-a-ranch-in-walla-walla-washington-except-for-one-lawyer/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [ Now, \[Donald\] Trump has thus far gotten endorsements from illustrious group, that includes Sarah Palin, David Duke, Dennis Rodman, racially profiling birther sheriff, Joe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/now-donald-trump-has-thus-far-gotten-endorsements-from-illustrious/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/america-not-keith-ellison-decides-what-book-a-congressman-takes-his/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/talking-with-most-people-usually-involves-a-search-for-truth-talking/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [So, the point I'm making is, we are not going to cut spending in Washington if we think it's the job of every congressman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/so-the-point-i-m-making-is-we-are-not-going-to-cut-spending-in/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [That's what a Congressman or a Senator is for -- to see that too much money don't accumulate in the national Treasury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/that-s-what-a-congressman-or-a-senator-is-for-to-see-that-too-much/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [It's amazing to me that people have any interest in such a low-level sex scandal. If I were sleeping with a congressman, maybe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-cutler/it-s-amazing-to-me-that-people-have-any-interest-in-such-a-low-level/) [Jessica Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-cutler/) > [The sport of wrestling is a tremendous builder of the values and characteristics which are needed to succeed in any walk of life. Much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hastert/the-sport-of-wrestling-is-a-tremendous-builder-of-the-values-and/) [Dennis Hastert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hastert/) > [African American Congressman Bobby Rush wore a hoodie on the floor of Congress to make a point this week. And they threw him out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/african-american-congressman-bobby-rush-wore-a-hoodie-on-the-floor-of/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Dan Coats, retiring senator from Indiana, a mild-mannered man, a former United States ambassador to Germany, former congressman, said of Ted Cruz he's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/dan-coats-retiring-senator-from-indiana-a-mild-mannered-man-a-former/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [ Leo Crowley, Harry \[Truman\]'s Foreign Economic Administrator, tells Congressmen the theory...: 'If you create good governments in foreign countries, automatically you will have better… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leo-crowley-harry-truman-s-foreign-economic-administrator-tells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jack Abramoff is going to testify against some of the other weasels in Congress. A lobbyist testifying against congressmen? How many Bibles are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/jack-abramoff-is-going-to-testify-against-some-of-the-other-weasels/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Here is your government at work. A congressman from Colorado said he wants to draft a rule that would make it unethical to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/here-is-your-government-at-work-a-congressman-from-colorado-said-he/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [You don't have to be a spiritual seeker, you can be a businessman dealing with the revolution in computers. You could be a congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-spiritual-seeker-you-can-be-a-businessman/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## More by Nicholas Johnson > [“Self-defense is a universal exception to the state’s monopoly on legitimate violence. State failure drives the self-defense doctrine through the imminence requirement. Private violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/self-defense-is-a-universal-exception-to-the-state-s-monopoly-on/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [All television is educational television. The question is: what is it teaching?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/all-television-is-educational-television-the-question-is-what-is-it/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“By the 1780s, Florida was home to Spanish-speaking Africans, fugitive slaves from the colonies, and indigenous and migrated Indian tribes, including the Seminoles. Fugitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/by-the-1780s-florida-was-home-to-spanish-speaking-africans-fugitive/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“Following the July 1919 race riot in Washington, DC, Johnson investigated and offered this assessment of how and why peace was restored. “The Negroes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/following-the-july-1919-race-riot-in-washington-dc-johnson/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“Walter White’s more remarkable achievement in print was the book Rope and Faggot, which distilled his firsthand accounts of more than forty lynchings. Passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/walter-white-s-more-remarkable-achievement-in-print-was-the-book-rope/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“Backed by Klan-type organizations dubbed “Red Shirts” and “Rough Riders,” Democrats summoned thirty-two of the city’s prominent blacks and laid out their demands: All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/backed-by-klan-type-organizations-dubbed-red-shirts-and-rough-riders/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [Taxing poor families runs counter to decades of effort to help people lift themselves out of poverty through work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/taxing-poor-families-runs-counter-to-decades-of-effort-to-help-people/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [A viewer who skips the advertising is the moral equivalent of a shoplifter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/a-viewer-who-skips-the-advertising-is-the-moral-equivalent-of-a/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [It used to be that people needed products to survive. Now products need people to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/it-used-to-be-that-people-needed-products-to-survive-now-products/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“Perhaps as many as two hundred thousand black men were snared into the convict labor system on a variety of pretexts. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/perhaps-as-many-as-two-hundred-thousand-black-men-were-snared-into/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [“By 1870, roughly 284,000 blacks accounted for 12 percent of the population of sixteen Western states and territories. But Negroes actually show up as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/by-1870-roughly-284-000-blacks-accounted-for-12-percent-of-the/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) [Explore all 12 Nicholas Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) ## More Congressman quotes > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [You don't have to be a spiritual seeker, you can be a businessman dealing with the revolution in computers. You could be a congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-spiritual-seeker-you-can-be-a-businessman/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Here is your government at work. A congressman from Colorado said he wants to draft a rule that would make it unethical to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/here-is-your-government-at-work-a-congressman-from-colorado-said-he/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Jack Abramoff is going to testify against some of the other weasels in Congress. A lobbyist testifying against congressmen? How many Bibles are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/jack-abramoff-is-going-to-testify-against-some-of-the-other-weasels/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [ Leo Crowley, Harry \[Truman\]'s Foreign Economic Administrator, tells Congressmen the theory...: 'If you create good governments in foreign countries, automatically you will have better… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leo-crowley-harry-truman-s-foreign-economic-administrator-tells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dan Coats, retiring senator from Indiana, a mild-mannered man, a former United States ambassador to Germany, former congressman, said of Ted Cruz he's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/dan-coats-retiring-senator-from-indiana-a-mild-mannered-man-a-former/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [African American Congressman Bobby Rush wore a hoodie on the floor of Congress to make a point this week. And they threw him out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/african-american-congressman-bobby-rush-wore-a-hoodie-on-the-floor-of/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The sport of wrestling is a tremendous builder of the values and characteristics which are needed to succeed in any walk of life. Much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hastert/the-sport-of-wrestling-is-a-tremendous-builder-of-the-values-and/) [Dennis Hastert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hastert/) > [It's amazing to me that people have any interest in such a low-level sex scandal. If I were sleeping with a congressman, maybe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-cutler/it-s-amazing-to-me-that-people-have-any-interest-in-such-a-low-level/) [Jessica Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-cutler/) > [That's what a Congressman or a Senator is for -- to see that too much money don't accumulate in the national Treasury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/that-s-what-a-congressman-or-a-senator-is-for-to-see-that-too-much/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [So, the point I'm making is, we are not going to cut spending in Washington if we think it's the job of every congressman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/so-the-point-i-m-making-is-we-are-not-going-to-cut-spending-in/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [Talking with most people usually involves a search for truth. Talking with congressmen is strictly special effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/talking-with-most-people-usually-involves-a-search-for-truth-talking/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [America, not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/america-not-keith-ellison-decides-what-book-a-congressman-takes-his/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [ Now, \[Donald\] Trump has thus far gotten endorsements from illustrious group, that includes Sarah Palin, David Duke, Dennis Rodman, racially profiling birther sheriff, Joe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/now-donald-trump-has-thus-far-gotten-endorsements-from-illustrious/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [Congressmen are like diapers - You need to change them often, and for the same reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-mccloskey/congressmen-are-like-diapers-you-need-to-change-them-often-and-for/) [Pete McCloskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-mccloskey/) [Browse all 284 Congressman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for $10000 but that you can buy a Washington lawyer for $100000.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-congressman-for-10000-but-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Congressman" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-congressman-for-10000-but-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acf/nicholas-johnson-37896_congressman_the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-co_2094800.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem is not that you can buy a congressman for $10000 but that you can buy a Washington lawyer for…” — Nicholas Johnson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nicholas Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem is not that you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-congressman-for-10000-but-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/the-problem-is-not-that-you-can-buy-a-congressman-for-10000-but-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```