John F. Kennedy: Buy Only Necessary Votes
on Wednesday, November 22, 2017John F. Kennedy Money Quote saying in jest that his father wanted to get his money’s worth in buying an election and didn’t want him to waste any on public perception. John F. Kennedy said:
“I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy; Dear Jack, Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide” — John F. Kennedy
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In this quote, John F. Kennedy is humorously recounting advice his father, Joseph Kennedy, gave him regarding an election. By saying “don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary”, JFK’s father is telling him to only spend as much money as needed on campaigning and getting votes, rather than trying to achieve an overwhelming landslide victory.
The elder Kennedy follows this up by joking that he doesn’t want to “pay for a landslide”, implying he doesn’t want to waste campaign funds on getting more votes than actually required to win.
Overall, this quote shows the Kennedys’ recognition of how money could influence electoral outcomes, as well as their pragmatic approach of focusing resources only on securing the minimum number of votes rather than seeking a huge margin of victory. It provides an amusing glimpse into the candid advice a father might give his son running for office.
Birthday: May 29, 1917 – Death: November 22, 1963