Bob Riley Quotes & Sayings

Victims of domestic violence need assistance and deserve justice, I commend the crime unit's efforts to put offenders behind bars and reach out to victims. — Bob Riley

For too long, we have focused on our differences - in our politics and backgrounds, in our race and beliefs - rather than cherishing the unity and pride that binds us together. — Bob Riley

If my house is on fire, I don't need the fire chief telling me I should not have built the house out of wood. I need somebody to put the fire out. — Bob Riley

I ask you: turn a deaf ear to the special interests. Let politics stand down for a while. don't waste anytime thinking about future elections until we've done our jobs here. — Bob Riley

The success of our economy shouldn't determine the success of our schools. — Bob Riley

The fight for reform comes down to a simple goal: giving our citizens the confidence that government serves the people first and the people only. — Bob Riley

Half a world away nations that once lived under oppression and tyranny are now budding democracies due in large part to America 's leadership and the sacrifices of our military. — Bob Riley

Drugs are the enemies of ambition and hope - and when we fight against drugs we are fighting for the future. — Bob Riley

When money follows results - we will get more results for our money. — Bob Riley

We must now view our problems as opportunities - historic opportunities to change the failed systems of the past and do what's right for our future. — Bob Riley

Ladies and gentlemen: There can be no greater investment in Alabama's future than an investment in education. — Bob Riley

If we are going to save this country, if we are going to reestablish that belief in God, it's up to us. If we don't do it, who will? — Bob Riley

God looked down on this country because this country was founded on the rock and that rock was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And when the storms came and the rains came, the rock, it did not move. But over the last 15 or 20 years, something began to erode. — Bob Riley

The opponents of my budget propose taking $200 million out of our classrooms and instead spending it on a larger school employee pay raise. Our focus should be on making sure our children come first. — Bob Riley

I think you'd change Alabama fundamentally if in six years someone said, 'If you want the best education in America, you've got to live in Alabama.' you'd change economic development, change the image of this state, you'd offer these kids an opportunity they otherwise would never have had. — Bob Riley

However, before we make the mistake of patting ourselves on the back, let's remember: government does not create jobs. It only helps create the conditions that make jobs more or less likely. The real credit for our economic renewal belongs to the people of Alabama . — Bob Riley

There is no longer time for statements like 'if only' or 'we can't.' We must and we will succeed. The only question now is how and when. I believe the time is now. — Bob Riley

Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed. — Bob Riley

In a time of tight budgets, difficult choices have to be made. We must make sure our very limited resources are spent on priorities. I believe we should have no higher priority than investing in our children's classrooms and in their future. — Bob Riley

The amount of money we spend on education is important, but not nearly as important as how the money is spent. — Bob Riley

The men and women who serve in our military have won for us every hour we live in freedom, sometimes at the expense of the very hours of the lifetimes they had hoped to live. — Bob Riley

One person can make a difference. In fact, it's not only possible for one person to make a difference, it's essential that one person makes a difference. And believe it or not, that person is you. — Bob Riley

We've got to take care of the poor. — Bob Riley

Government does not create jobs. It only helps create the conditions that make jobs more or less likely. — Bob Riley

You elected government officials to make decisions and it's about time they started making good ones. — Bob Riley

Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed. — Bob Riley

No two wars are ever the same. Some are just, some are unjust, but the basic commonality shared between them all is that young men and women heeded a call to service, overcame their fear, and fought for their side. — Bob Riley

Perseverance is a virtue that cannot be understated. — Bob Riley

Change makes us confront the great unknown. It introduces different things into our lives. Different places. Different ideas. Different people. It's all hard to accept at times, and change can often be a little scary. But if there's one fact that I've learned from raising a family, from running several businesses, from serving in Congress and now as Governor, it's that nothing has ever grown without changing. — Bob Riley

Nothing is worse, or more of a breach of the social contract between citizen and state, than for government officials, bureaucrats and agencies to waste the money entrusted to them by the people they serve. — Bob Riley

I hope we never get to the point that we put ourselves in Jesus' place. But when I read the New Testament basically, we get three mandates: to love God, to love each other, and to take care of the least among us. And I think this is at least a step in the right direction. — Bob Riley

According to our Christian ethics, we're supposed to love God, love each other and help take care of the poor. It is immoral to charge somebody making $5,000 an income tax. — Bob Riley

No skill shapes a child's future success in school or in life more than the ability to read. — Bob Riley

I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism. — Bob Riley