Coolidge Blog

1924: The High Tide of American Conservatism

By Garland S. Tucker III     The following is adapted from Garland S. Tucker III’s new book, 1924: Coolidge, Davis, and the High Tide of American Conservatism (Coolidge Press). […]

A Misunderstood Decade

By John H. Cochrane     This article appears in the Winter 2024 issue of the Coolidge Review.   The 1920s were the single most consequential decade for the lives of […]

Casa Utopia: The Tale of an American Collective Farm

By Amity Shlaes     This review is from Amity Shlaes’s regular column “The Forgotten Book,” which she pens for “Capital Matters” as a fellow of National Review Institute.   […]

Coolidge Books for the Holidays

By Jerry Wallace   M. C. Murphy, Calvin Coolidge: The Presidency and Philosophy of a Progressive Conservative A new biography of Calvin Coolidge is certainly worth your attention. Mark C. […]

Kill Bad Bills

February 20, 2014

The more legislation, the better.

That’s the attitude of most Americans these days. After all, it’s not uncommon to hear lawmakers get criticized for “doing nothing.” But Coolidge viewed doing nothing as a virtue – at least when it came to legislating.

As early as 1910, the Massachusetts politician started to voice concerns about a surfeit of laws. This shows in a letter the younger Coolidge wrote his father John, who was a new senator in Vermont. “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones,” the 38-year old Coolidge counseled his 65-year old father.

Later, Coolidge raised the point again: “Don’t hurry to legislate,” he told fellow lawmakers when he became president of the Massachusetts senate.

2 Responses to “Kill Bad Bills”

  1. thanks for sharing this amazing information. I was in need of that. Keep posting and sharing.

  2. Heidi A.

    This quote really got me thinking, and it’s very relevant to today’s political scene. Thank you!

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