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Jesse Ventura Quotes
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Jesse Ventura is an American media personality, actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and former politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn Park from 1991 to 1995 and as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was the first and only candidate of the Reform Party to win a major government position.

Ventura was a member of the U.S. Navy Underwater Demolition Team during the Vietnam War. After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name Jesse "The Body" Ventura. He had a long tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as a performer and color commentator, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004. In addition to wrestling, Ventura pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as Predator and The Running Man .

Ventura first entered politics in 1991 when he was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a position he held until 1995. Three years later, Ventura was the Reform Party candidate in the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual ads that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". Ventura's campaign was unexpectedly successful, with him narrowly defeating both the Democratic and Republican candidates. The highest elected official to ever win an election on a Reform Party ticket, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office amid internal fights for control over the party.As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives taken under Ventura included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, and cuts in income taxes. Ventura left office in 2003, deciding not to run for re-election. After leaving office, Ventura became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2004. He has since also hosted a number of television shows and has written several political books. Ventura remains politically active and currently hosts a show on Ora TV and on RT America called Off the Grid. As of September 2017, Ventura is hosting a variety news show on RT called The World According to Jesse. Ventura has repeatedly floated running for President of the United States on a third party or independent ticket. Wikipedia  

✵ 15. July 1951
Jesse Ventura photo
Jesse Ventura: 103   quotes 1   like

Jesse Ventura Quotes

“Government works less efficiently when it begins to grow out of control and takes on more and more of the responsibilities that belong to the citizens.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

“I'm against the draft. I believe we should have a professional military; it might be smaller, but it would be more effective.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

“Some felt I'm not academically qualified, and they're right.”

Jesse Ventura

On teaching at Harvard.
Harvard interview (February 2004)

“I am not a career politician. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I'm a working man with commonsense ideas and goals. I describe myself politically as fiscally conservative and socially moderate-to-liberal.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Idea

“I looked at my wife and said, "You know what? If these people put their own dollar-an-hour raise above the integrity of our nation, I don't wanna be their boss anymore."”

Jesse Ventura

On his reaction to Minnesota state workers going on strike.
Harvard interview (February 2004)

People

“It's panhandling... That's the system we have, though. It's based on bribery.”

Jesse Ventura

On political fund-raising
Harvard interview (February 2004)

“There's hardly a more effective way to solve the problems we face in our educational system than to reduce class size. A ratio of no more than 17 students per teacher ensures more 1-on-1 contact, better classroom discipline, you name it.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Education , Way , Problem , Teachers

“Every fat person says it's not their fault, that they have gland trouble. You know which gland? The saliva gland. They can't push away from the table.”

Jesse Ventura

Interview in Playboy (November 1999)

Personality

“Could someone please tell me how this will affect me? Come on, this is Harvard, folks. I came all the way out here to learn this.”

Jesse Ventura

On same-sex marriage.
Harvard interview (February 2004)

Way , Learning

“While I was mayor, I learned that government is a system of checks and balances — you can't simply walk in and change things. It takes time. I used to joke that it would be nice if a magic wand came with the job, if I could just wave it and make things work the way they're supposed to. But unfortunately it's not that easy. The bureaucracy is so huge that in a lot of situations all I can do is tell people the truth and let the chips fall where they may.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

People , Truth , Way , Learning

“There's no question that we need tougher drunk-driving laws for repeat offenders. We need to take a lesson from European countries where driving isn't a right but a privilege. There isn't a person on this planet by this time who doesn't know that when you consume alcohol you shouldn't get behind the wheel of a car. The people who do it anyway should have their privilege to drive taken away.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

People , Alcohol , Law , Cars

“Bunch a slack-jawed faggots around here. This stuff [Red Man chewing tobacco] will make you a god-damned sexual tyrannosaurus -- just like me.”

Jesse Ventura

from Predator
Movies

God

“I believe I was destined to become mayor of Brooklyn Park. And maybe, by fulfilling that destiny to become mayor, I sealed my destiny to become governor. I hope I'm not destined to become president. I don't say that with arrogance — it's only that everything seemed to fall so easily into place in both of my other races. But I truly wanted to be mayor and governor — I don't want the presidency. I'll never say never, because you never know what will happen. But 99% of me says no.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Hope

“I always felt, in looking at [the Cuban] situation, that it was wrong. And I now know why. It came to me one night in Mexico. China is communist, the same as Cuba, and yet we have no problem trading with China. In fact, today we can't get over there quick enough. The difference is simple: China welcomes our corporations. Cuba threw them out. It's a basic decision of corporate America: We will punish Cuba because Castro stuck it to us by nationalizing everything after he came to power. What other reason could there be? China is far more powerful but we now welcome them into global trade with open arms—as we should—while we continue this bitter, hostile policy towards Cuba. It must be because there are still people alive in the corporate world who got hammered by Fidel's revolution.”

Jesse Ventura

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! (2008), Ch. 6 (p. 111)

Hostility , People , World , Problem

“The current use of the National Guard is wrong… These are men who did not sign up to go occupy foreign nations.”

Jesse Ventura

The Army Times (6 September 2004) http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-ARMYPAPER-323322.php

Men

“Whereas: The unique features of this nation at its foundation was its establishment of a secular Constitution that separated government from religion — something never done before; and
Whereas: Our secular constitution has enabled people of all world views to coexist in harmony, undivided by sectarian strife; and
Whereas: President James Madison made clear the importance of maintaining this harmony when he said, "The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the endless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries"; and
Whereas: The diversity of our people requires mutual respect and equal protection for all our citizens, including minority groups, if we are to remain "One nation, indivisible"; and
Whereas: It is the unfettered diversity of ideas and world views that have made our nation the strongest and most productive in the world; and
Whereas: Eternal vigilance must be maintained to guard against those who seek to stifle ideas, establish a narrow orthodoxy, and divide our nation along arbitrary lines of race, ethnicity, and religious belief or non-belief.
Now Therefore, I, Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim that Thursday July 4, 2002 shall be observed as: Indivisible Day In the State of Minnesota.”

Jesse Ventura

Indivisible Day Proclamation (2002)

People , World , Religion , Idea

“I want to believe that bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but now I have doubts. If they were responsible, I am beginning to think it was not without some knowledge of those impending attacks on our side.”

Jesse Ventura

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! (2008), Ch. 11 (p. 212)

Knowledge , Thinking

“Even while I was a Navy SEAL, I participated in the 1970s peace movement. I marched at peace rallies. I admit it wasn't so much because of my great love of peace as it was because of my great love of female companionship. To the women in the movement, I was the poor beleaguered victim of the system, sent off against his will to fight this horrible war. They didn't realize that the navy had no draft!”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Love , Women , War , Peace

“A Navy SEAL will defy death at least twice a week. When you get that kind of familiarity with death, barriers go down, and anything else seems insignificant.
I don't like what happened in the navy's Tailhook scandal; I think what those officers did was wrong. But I understand why it happened. When you get a force of that many hundreds of warriors together, there's bound to be trouble.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Death , Understanding , Thinking

“I was stunned to learn that there are CIA operatives inside some state governments. They are not in executive positions—in other words, not appointed by the governor—but are permanent state employees. Governors come and go, but they keep working—in legitimate jobs, but with dual identities. In Minnesota, this person was at a deputy commissioner level, fairly high up. […] Are they put there to spy? To see the direction that state government is going, what's happening, and report back—to whom? And for what purpose? Do they think there are traitors in certain states? I don't know. That part, I wasn't told. I'm left to wonder why our Constitution is being violated.”

Jesse Ventura

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! (2008), Ch. 5 (p. 93)

Thinking , Learning , Parting , Personality

“I believe very strongly that guns are instruments of death. That's all they're used for; there's no purpose for them other than to kill. I think you have to understand that in order to respect them. I have no fear of my teenage son handling weapons, because he has that respect.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Death , Fear , Understanding , Thinking

“Why not treat marijuana in the same way as alcohol and tobacco? It's so widely used, and it has medical purposes that are denied by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. Numerous doctors and private studies have clearly shown that medicinal marijuana is a painkiller that can help cancer and AIDS patients, and can also be used to treat glaucoma. The latest breakthrough is that it helps Alzheimer's patients.”

Jesse Ventura

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! (2008), Ch. 10 (p. 189)

Alcohol , Food , Way , Study

“If I could be reincarnated as a fabric, I would come back as a 38 double-D bra.”

Jesse Ventura

Interview in Playboy (November 1999)

“The best chance disabled students have for productive adult lives comes from being mainstreamed among other students. My daughter Jade is living proof of that. She has a disability, but we have made sure that she has gotten the same kind of exposure as other kids her age. There are a few exceptions; there are students whose special needs are such that mainstreaming won't work for them. But in the majority of cases, mainstreaming should be supported, encouraged, and facilitated for disabled students.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Age , Support , Chance , Daughters

“Why did they label me a college dropout? The connotation is, he left to go have fun. Not that I served honorably in the Navy, went to college on the GI Bill, trained to be a pro wrestler, and took a job when the opportunity came up. Isn't that what college is for, to prepare you to earn a living? The positive is, I still have three years of eligibility left — if Harvard wants me for its football team.”

Jesse Ventura

On the "stupid, lazy" media reports on his lack of a college education.
Harvard interview (February 2004)

Football , Training

“I say legalize marijuana because we have a chance to leave this world a better place for our children. Marijuana legalization is job creation, tax dollars, something to rejuvenate our pathetic economy. This is a multibillion-dollar industry. This is about jobs; this is about economics; this is about freedom. This is about taking our country back.”

Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto (2016), Introduction

Children , World , Freedom , Chance

“Develop high expectations.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

“They could care less about the public. The public comes in third. Number one is keeping their power. Number two are the special interests, the people footing the bill. Finally, the public good might be third — if they can profit from it. If there's no profit, they could care less.”

Jesse Ventura

On Democrats and Republicans
Harvard interview (February 2004)

People

“A third-party candidate is never treated equally. They look at you as a novelty, as cannon fodder. "This is entertaining," they think, "but we'll go back to the Democrats and Republicans, because only they can run our government."”

Jesse Ventura

Which is baloney.
Harvard interview (February 2004)

Thinking

“Government's role should be only to keep the playing field level, and to work hand in hand with business on issues such as employment. But beyond this, to as great an extent as possible, it should get the hell out of the way.”

Jesse Ventura

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)

Way , Hell , Business

“I've often referred to pro wrestling as "ballet with violence." Yes, it's staged, as far as who's going to be the winner, but it's not fake. It's really an art form, and one that requires careful discipline. When you smash your opponent with a folding chair, you've got to know how not to hurt him. When you get body-slammed, it's painful, no way around it. But you get used to it.”

Jesse Ventura

Source: Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! (2008), Ch. 2 (p. 29)

Pain , Art , Way , Hurt

“Our government has the weirdest bias against cannabis.”

Jesse Ventura

There's no reason for everybody to be so afraid of it. It's not the antichrist the DEA makes it out to be. Industrial hemp is a very useful plant. I challenged the attorney general to get rid of the criminal stigma associated with hemp so we can look at it in terms of how it might be useful. And government has no business telling us what we can and can't use for pain relief.
I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)