“If you attack the establishment long enough, they make you a member”

American humorist Art Buchwald (1925-2007) often poked fun at the Washington establishment in his newspaper column in the Washington (DC) Post, “If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it,” Buchwald said at an awards ceremony in 1989 and at several other times.
   
Buchwald wrote in his newspaper column in 1968:
   
“Woe to the person in this country who attacks the establishment. It isn’t jail, nor even physical harm, that he must fear. His main problem is that by attacking the Establishment, he automatically becomes a member of it, and there is no greater punishment in the world.”
 
Buchwald said in a personal interview in 1969:
 
“If you attack the establishment, they immediately make you a member. Everyone is so thrilled with anyone who attacks the establishment that they immediately ask you to join.”
 
   
Wikiquote: Art Buchwald
Arthur “Art” Buchwald (20 October 1925 – 17 January 2007) was an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post newspaper, which focused on political satire and commentary. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982 and in 1986 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
 
Sourced
If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.
. International Herald Tribune (24 May 1989)
 
Google News Archive
7 May 1968, Ellensburg (WA) Daily Record, “You Can’t Buck The Establishment” by Art Buchwald, pg. 4, col. 2
Woe to the person in this country who attacks the establishment. It isn’t jail, nor even physical harm, that he must fear. His main problem is that by attacking the Establishment, he automatically becomes a member of it, and there is no greater punishment in the world.
 
1 February 1969, The News and Courier (Charleston, SC), “Buchwald Cites Reasons For Successful Career” by Margaret M. Wilcox, pg. 9, col. 6:
Comfortably seated, he (Art Buchwald—ed.) explained how one becomes acceptable today. “I’m an ant-establishment establishment-character,” he said. “If you attack the establishment, they immediately make you a member. Everyone is so thrilled with anyone who attacks the establishment that they immediately ask you to join.”
 
23 October 1985, The Times (Trenton, NJ), “Newsmakers” by Liz Smith, pg. B9, col. 1:
“I’m very optimistic about this country…because when you see what countries are doing to people like me for just saying something, and…when you see what I’m getting in this country for doing the same thing, you tend to think that it’s not a bad place. The thing about this country is if you attack the establishment and do it well, they make you a member of the establishment immediately!”
So said philosopher Art Buchwald to “60 Minutes.”
 
21 January 1987, Boston (MA) Herald, “The best of ‘60 Minutes’” by Don Hewitt, pg. 45, col. 1:
ART BUCHWALD, OCT. 19, 1980
BUCHWALD: I’m very optimistic about this country…because when you see what countries are doing to people like me for just saying something, and…when you see what I’m getting in this country for doing the same thing, you tend to think that it’s not a bad place. The thing about this country is if you attack the establishment and do it well, they make you a member of the establishment.”
 
23 May 1989, Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette, “PEOPLE: Join the club, Art,” pg. 14C, col. 2:
Columnist Art Buchwald, who grew up in an orphanage and foster homes, said at last weekend’s Horatio Alger Awards dinner in Washington that his receiving the honor proves what his father told him, “If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”
 
FOX News
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Art Buchwald Dies
Published January 18, 2007 Associated Press
Columnist and author Art Buchwald, who for over four decades chronicled the life and times of Washington with an infectious wit and endeared himself to many with his never-say-die battle with failing kidneys, is dead at 81.
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Among his more famous witticisms: “If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”
 
The Huffington Post
Rich Rubino (Author, ‘The Political Bible of Humorous Quotations from American Politics,’ ‘Make Every Vote Equal What a Novel Idea,’ and The Political Bible of Little Known Facts in American Politics)
The Establishment is Not Quite as Established as One Might Think
Posted: 08/19/2013 4:51 pm EDT Updated: 10/19/2013 5:12 am EDT
(...)
Political candidates revel in styling themselves as the populist insurgent. They try to brand a scarlet “E” for establishment on the forehead of their opponents. While an establishment candidate benefits from institutional support and an existing army of benefactors, they usually downplay this significant asset, trying to present themselves as independent-minded. However, once insurgents are elected, they become the face card of the establishment. As the late humorist Art Buchwald opined: “If you attack the establishment long enough, and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”