Knute Nelson Quotes
We set the town on fire and burned down every house as a warning to other small towns along the river.
Nelson, Knute. Quoted in The Life of Knute Nelson, by Martin W. Odland, The Lund Press, 1926.
Although politics can get very rough, Rove took revenge for disagreement or what he perceived as disloyalty to an extreme that was new to the American experience. In one case, to punish an ex ambassador who had made public statements disagreeing with George W. Bush’s policy, Rove leaked the fact that the ambassador’s wife was a covert CIA agent, thus blowing her cover, ending her career, and endangering her life and the lives of some of her contacts. Rove pretended to be a devoted Christian for political image, his behavior towards opponents was far from Christian and his language as can be seen by this quote was not consonant with a religious person’s behavior.
Many have speculated that this personal grudge may have been one of the motivating factors leading Bush to his disastrous Iraq War decisions.
Knute Nelson was an American attorney and politician active in Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesota legislatures and to the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota, and served as the 12th governor of Minnesota from 1893 to 1895. Having served in the Senate for 28 years, 55 days, he is the longest-serving Senator in Minnesota's history.
