Quotes of the Week

Look, he knows how to put on a show — he knows how to make an ultraconservative Tea Party Republican get a little stiffy. Is he for real? Honestly, at some point, what's the difference? ... I don't think there is a Dan Patrick, except that which exists to get Dan Patrick elected.

Democratic strategist Harold Cook to Rolling Stone magazine on the allure of Dan Patrick

When I step out of my current job, and I have 15 or 20 productive years left in my body, I want to be able to have as in-depth an understanding about this world as possible.

Gov. Rick Perry, sharing with The New York Times Magazine's Mark Leibovich on where he sees himself 15 or 20 years from now

A politician determines by partisan and strategic reasons what the answer is and then finds someone to do research to support it. It drives me crazy.

Michael Webber, deputy director of the Energy Institute at UT, on Perry's letter critical of President Barack Obama's new energy policy to reduce carbon emissions from burning coal

We, as a country, enjoy punishing people for saying stupid things. That, fireworks, and the missionary position are basically the three most American things I can think of.

Actor and comedian Nick Offerman in his address to the 2014 Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner over the weekend