Statesman is a politician who is dead (1896); Conservative is liberal mugged (1980)

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STATESMAN IS A POLITICIAN WHO IS DEAD

   It's by Thomas Brackett Reed.  No exact date is here, but it's better than various quotations books have.


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
ALL ALONG THE LINE
The Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File). Oct 10, 1896. p. 7 (1 page):
   "Epigrams are Reed's horse.  Many of them are classic.  'A statesman is a politican who is dead,' is one of his sayings that will never be forgotten."

THOMAS BRACKETT REED.
ELBRIDGE O. DUNNELL. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jul 4, 1897. p. IWM2 (1 page) :
   "A STATESMAN  is a politician who is dead," is an epigram so characteristic of Thomas Brackett Reed, the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Fifty-Fifth Congress, that the sentiment is not likely to be attributed to any other living public man.

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A CONSERVATIVE IS A LIBERAL WHO'S BEEN MUGGED

   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES had it that "a liberal is a conservative who's been arrested."


(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS)
ADD DEFINITIONS
LEO L. ROCKWELL.. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 27, 1960. p. SM12 (1 page):
 TO THE EDITOR:
   Addendum to Dave Breger's definition in "letters" (March 12): "A liberal is a radical with a family"--A conservative is a liberal with grandchildren.
   LEO L. ROCKWELL
Lakeland, Fla.

Ben Wattenberg's 'walkabout' look at American politics; TELEVISION
By Arthur Unger. Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current file). Boston, Mass.: May 30, 1980. p. 19 (1 page):
   "A 'neoconservative' is what I've been called.  Well I say a neoconservative is just a liberal who has been mugged by reality!"  Mr. Wattenberg laughs at his own turn of phrase.

Gunman Robs N.Y. Congressman Near Hill Home
By Roger Piantadosi Washington Post Staff Writer. The Washington Post (1974-Current file). Washington, D.C.: Mar 20, 1981. p. A48 (1 page) :
   "Well, a conservative is a liberal who was mugged last night," he (Rep. Hamilton Fish Jr., New York Republican--ed.) said.

Thinking Things Over; The Prodigal Sons
By Vermont Royster. Wall Street Journal (1889-Current file). New York, N.Y.: May 13, 1981. p. 26 (1 page):
   A "neoconservative" is variously defined.  Irving Kristol describes him as a former liberal "who has been mugged by reality," a description to fit Kristol himself, who's become a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal.

Article 7 -- No Title; KRISTOL KRISTOL
By Walter Goodman. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Dec 6, 1981. p. SM23 (5 pages):
   (A neoconservative, he tells us, is "a liberal who has been mugged by reality.")

'Mellow' Rizzo Girds for Race in Philadelphia
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Dec 15, 1982. p. A15 (1 page):
   When Mr. Rizzo (Philadelphia mayor Frank L. Rizzo--ed.) left office, he had become known for such lines as: "A conservative is a liberal who was mugged the night before."

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The Washington Post (1974-Current file). Washington, D.C.: Nov 6, 1983. p. K9 (1 page):
Dear Readers: (Ann Landers--ed.)
   The best line of the week: A good definition of a conservative is a liberal who was mugged last night.

Renter-to-Owner Ratio Shifts, and With It the Political Climate; METRO MATTERS/ Maybe liberals are becoming fewer; then again, maybe conservatives are becoming noisier.
Sam Roberts. New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 1, 1993. p. B3 (1 page):
   What is a liberal, anyway?  To Irving Kristol's definition of neoconservative as a liberal who was mugged by reality, Tom Wolfe countered that "a liberal is a conservative who has been arrested."