--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An honest politician is one who, when…" description: "\"“An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay bought.”\" — Simon Cameron PA" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg" --- # An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay… ![“An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay bought.” quote by Simon Cameron PA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg) > ““An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay bought.”” [Simon Cameron PA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cameron-pa/) ## 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 cynically claims that an honest politician remains corrupt once bought, implying inherent corruption. **In simple terms:** An honest politician who accepts bribes stays corrupt. Key Takeaway Watch for corruption in politics. Themes politics corruption ethics trust power integrity cynicism Mood skeptical critical concerned Type political ethical When to use this quote - government - elections - policy making - public trust Key Concepts political critique social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect political integrity? - How can citizens demand accountability? A Different Perspective May generalize all politicians unfairly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-politician-554238/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politician Bought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician-bought-4279888/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Stay Bought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-bought-4279889/) ## Related quotes > [An honest politician is one who when he is bought will stay bought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cameron/an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-he-is-bought-will-stay-bought/) [Simon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cameron/) > [It never fails to astonish me how cheaply a politician can be bought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/it-never-fails-to-astonish-me-how-cheaply-a-politician-can-be-bought/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [“I studied history in college, and I've always enjoyed reading, especially political biographies, and I can state that in all my studies and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-hartmann/i-studied-history-in-college-and-i-ve-always-enjoyed-reading/) [John W. Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-hartmann/) > [“An honest politician is one that stays bought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/an-honest-politician-is-one-that-stays-bought/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Looking for an honest politician is like looking for an ethical burglar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/looking-for-an-honest-politician-is-like-looking-for-an-ethical/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [He's an honest politician--he stays bought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/he-s-an-honest-politician-he-stays-bought/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [An honest politician has no goodies to toss around. This limits his effectiveness profoundly, because political power in India is dispersed throughout a multi-tiered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/an-honest-politician-has-no-goodies-to-toss-around-this-limits-his/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/it-is-hard-for-any-one-to-be-an-honest-politician-who-is-not-born-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“The idea of a vegetarian butcher is absurd; but there is something more absurd than this: The idea of an honest politician!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-idea-of-a-vegetarian-butcher-is-absurd-but-there-is-something/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [You show me a politician with his heels ten feet in the air, and by Judas priest, Ill show you an honest politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/you-show-me-a-politician-with-his-heels-ten-feet-in-the-air-and-by/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [An honest politician is either a hypocrite - or he is doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-caldwell/an-honest-politician-is-either-a-hypocrite-or-he-is-doomed/) [Taylor Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-caldwell/) > [An Honest politician will not be tolerated by a democracy unless he is very stupid ... because only a very stupid man can honestly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/an-honest-politician-will-not-be-tolerated-by-a-democracy-unless-he/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There are two impossibilities in life: "just one drink" and "an honest politician."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-are-two-impossibilities-in-life-just-one-drink-and-an-honest/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [An honest politician is an oxymoron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/an-honest-politician-is-an-oxymoron/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I'm a very honest politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-zuma/i-m-a-very-honest-politician/) [Jacob Zuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-zuma/) ## More Honest quotes > [How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-davis/how-strong-is-a-faith-that-can-t-stand-up-to-a-few-honest-questions/) [Kenneth C. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-davis/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Tobacco is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/tobacco-is-the-passion-of-honest-men-and-he-who-lives-without-tobacco/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“RIGHT Do you do what feels right or what is seen right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-downer/right-do-you-do-what-feels-right-or-what-is-seen-right/) [Kitty Downer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-downer/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I don't know - to be honest, I don't really model myself after anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-klattenhoff/i-don-t-know-to-be-honest-i-don-t-really-model-myself-after-anybody/) [Diego Klattenhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-klattenhoff/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I used to not be really honest with girls and then I dropped a song called Starry Room and then I started turning over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-smith/i-used-to-not-be-really-honest-with-girls-and-then-i-dropped-a-song/) [Jaden Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-smith/) > [Fuck perfect, I want honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djsovviet/fuck-perfect-i-want-honest/) [Djsovviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djsovviet/) > [If I'm honest, I think everything is funny. You've just got to find the right way in. When I'm at my happiest and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcintyre/if-i-m-honest-i-think-everything-is-funny-you-ve-just-got-to-find-the/) [Michael McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcintyre/) > [I think managers see that I am honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lallana/i-think-managers-see-that-i-am-honest/) [Adam Lallana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lallana/) [Browse all 7,016 Honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay bought.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Cameron PA" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cameron-pa/an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bought-will-stay-bought/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cameron-pa/an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bought-will-stay-bought/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/simon-cameron-pa-278385_politics_an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bou_2113791.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An honest politician is one who, when bought, will stay bought.” — Simon Cameron PA", "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": "Simon Cameron PA", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cameron-pa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An honest politician is one who,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cameron-pa/an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bought-will-stay-bought/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cameron-pa/an-honest-politician-is-one-who-when-bought-will-stay-bought/#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 } } ] } ```