“The concept of change baffled them.”
Robert A. Heinlein book Farnham's Freehold
Source: Farnham's Freehold (1964), Chapter 14 (p. 196)
The earliest source found in Google Books dates from 1968 https://books.google.com/books?id=4uc0AQAAIAAJ&q=%22baffle+them%22+dazzle&dq=%22baffle+them%22+dazzle&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKm4ad8rbLAhVM1GMKHa8WDQcQ6AEIJTAC, and does not attribute it to W. C. Fields but to a certain "Bill": I said, "What do you do, Bill?" He says "Well, if I can't dazzle them with my brilliance I baffle them with my bull," and doggone if he doesn't. Not found attributed to W. C. Fields until 2005 https://books.google.com/books?id=-7MizCVNXPEC&pg=PA44&dq=dazzle+%22with+brilliance%22+baffle+fields&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW0Yzv9rbLAhUT2mMKHW1nAd0Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=dazzle%20%22with%20brilliance%22%20baffle%20fields&f=false. <br class="br">Misattributed
“The concept of change baffled them.”
Robert A. Heinlein book Farnham's Freehold
Source: Farnham's Freehold (1964), Chapter 14 (p. 196)
“Memories - you can't escape them, but you can't let them rule you either.”
Rob Thurman (1950) American writer
Source: Deathwish
“If you can't beat them. Join them”
Jim Henson (1936–1990) American puppeteer
Source: Jim Henson's Storyteller
“If you can't convince them, confuse them.”
Harry Truman (1884–1972) American politician, 33rd president of the United States (in office from 1945 to 1953)
“Just because you can't see them and you can't hear them, that doesn't mean they're not here.”
Graham Masterton (1946) British writer
Source: The Devil in Gray
“That's bullshit. You're being deliberately unpleasant. I suppose you can't help yourself, can you?”
Tony Abbott (1957) Australian politician
To then Shadow minister for Health Nicola Roxon after a debate before the Nation Press Gallery, subsequently quoted in http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/abbotts-day-from-hell/2007/10/31/1193618926551.html "Abbotts Day From Hell", Sydney Morning Herald, October 31, 2007
2007
“If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.”
George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian
“When you can't be honest with people, you can't ever relax with them.”
Dorothy Koomson book My Best Friend's Girl
Source: My Best Friend's Girl