A scene from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939
H.V. Kaltenborn

[Announcing on the radio]

Half of official Washington is here to see democracy's finest show, the filibuster, the right to talk your head off, the American privilege of free speech in its most dramatic form. The least man in that chamber, once he gets and holds that floor by the rules, can hold it and talk as long as he can stand on his feet providing always, first, that he does not sit down, second, that he does not leave the chamber or stop talking. The galleries are packed. In the diplomatic gallery are the envoys of two dictator powers. They have come here to see what they can't see at home. DEMOCRACY IN ACTION.

More from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Jefferson Smith Dad always used to say the only causes worth fighting for were the lost causes.
The origin of this quote is Ethel Lina White's The Wheel Spins, published in 1936. Jefferson Smith The people of my state need permanent relief from crooked men riding their backs. Jefferson Smith I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn't have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella, too.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) poster
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 · 36 quotes · 4 characters All Mr. Smith Goes to Washington quotes →
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