The Contender (film)

"Principles only mean something if you stick by them when they're inconvenient."

"[closing remarks at Congressional confirmation hearing] Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the committee. Remarkably enough, it seems that I have some explaining to do. So, let me be absolutely clear. I stand for a woman's right to choose. I stand for the elimination of the death penalty. I stand for a strong and growing armed forces because we must stomp out genocide on this planet, and I believe that that is a cause worth dying for. I stand for seeing every gun taken out of every home, period. I stand for making the selling of cigarettes to our youth a federal offense. I stand for term limits and campaign reform. And, Mr. Chairman, I stand for the separation of church and state, and the reason that I stand for that is the same reason that I believe our forefathers did. It is not there to protect religion from the grasp of government, but to protect our government from the grasp of religious fanaticism. I may be an atheist, but that does not mean I do not go to church. I do go to church. The church I go to is the one that emancipated the slaves, that gave women the right to vote, that gave us every freedom that we hold dear. My church is this very chapel of Democracy that we sit in together, and I do not need God to tell me what are my moral absolutes. I need my heart, my brain, and this church."

"[after missing a shot while bowling] Well, that's what I get for my Leftist tendencies."

"[to Gov. Hathaway] You're the future of the Democratic party. And you always will be."

"I'll die before Shelly Runyon checkmates me."

"[to Gov. Hathaway] Who doesn't want a shortcut to greatness?"

"[about Rep. Reginald Webster] Well, he may not know his right from his left, but he does know the difference between right and wrong."

"[addressing the Congress] Thank you. Napoleon once said when asked to explain the lack of great statesmen in the world, that 'to get power, you need to display absolute pettiness. To exercise power, you need to show true greatness.' Such pettiness and such greatness are rarely found in one person. I look upon the events of the past weeks and I've never come so to grips with that quotation. So, ladies and gentlemen of this Congress, it pains my soul to tell you that you have brought blood and shame under this great dome. Your leadership has raised the stakes of hate to a level where we can no longer separate the demagogue from the truly inspired. And believe this, there are traitors among us. And I'm not talking about those of you who sided against your party leadership. I'm talking about those of you who were patriots to your party but traitors to the necessary end result: That of righteousness, the truth, the concept of making the American dream blind to gender. And you know, I am not free of blame. Right from the start, I should've come down here, pointed a finger your way - pointed a finger your way [pointing at Runyon], and asked you, 'Have you no decency, sir?' Yesterday, I met [he notices Runyon exiting] - Mr. Runyon, you may walk out on me, you may walk out on this body, but you cannot walk out on the will of the American people. Americans are a good people. They're a just people, Mr. Runyon, and they will forgive you, but they will not forget. Hate and ego have no place residing in what my good friend Laine Hanson calls the chapel of democracy."

"I should have come down here and pointed my finger your way... [points at Rep. Shelley Runyon] ... pointed my finger YOUR way, and asked "Have you no decency, sir?""

"[to President Jackson Evans] We're both sticking to our guns. The difference is, mine are loaded."

"Take a magic marker, cross out the word "objectivity". Your constituents want you for your opinions, your philosophy, for your subjectivity."

"The people of this nation can stomach quite a bit. But the one thing they can't stomach is the image of a vice president with a mouthful of cock."

"[Trying to dig up dirt on Shelly Runyon] I want something EMBARRASSING! Something sexual! Little boys, midgets, that sort of thing! Cows! I don't give a goddamn!"

"Sometimes you can assassinate a leader without firing a shot."

"Welcome To The Greatest Show On Earth"

"Joan Allen - Sen. Laine Hanson"

"Gary Oldman - Rep. Sheldon Runyon"

"Jeff Bridges - President Jackson Evans"

"Christian Slater - Rep. Reginald Webster"

"Sam Elliott - Kermit Newman"

"William Petersen - Gov. Jack Hathaway"

"Saul Rubinek - Jerry Tolliver"

"Philip Baker Hall - Oscar Billings"

"Mike Binder - Lewis Hollis"

"Robin Thomas - William Hanson"

"Mariel Hemingway - Cynthia Charlton Lee"

"Kathryn Morris - Special Agent Paige Willomina"