The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so they believe they are clever as he.

The secret of the demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audience so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he.

The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletariat to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeoisie.

A demagogue is a person with whom we disagree as to which gang should mismanage the country.

The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots. The demaslave is one who listens to what these idiots have to say and pretends to believe it himself.

Widespread ignorance bordering on idiocy is our new national goal. ... The ideal citizen of a politically corrupt state, such as the one we now have, is a gullible dolt unable to tell truth from bullshit. An educated, well-informed population, the kind that a functioning democracy requires, would be difficult to lie to, and could not be led by the nose by the various vested interests running amok in this country.

One may become a demagogue out of sheer political innocence.

Demosthenes: A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue. (tr. O'Neill 1938, Perseus)

Demagogues thrive in dim light.

To play the demagogue for purposes of self-interest is a cardinal sin against the people in a democracy, exactly as to play the courtier for such purposes is a cardinal sin against the people under other forms of government.

a mass of ignorant, culturally degraded citizens easily becomes an immense drag on the system. They become easy prey to demagogues and applaud every attempt to undermine the foundations of that “natural liberty” which they have enjoyed in the first place.

A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he must be ignorant and a rogue.

If the champions of an economic and political delusion were its only victims, we could with a little charity leave them to their rude awakening. But in democratic countries delusions may become public policies, supported by power, and hungry for domination even at the cost of subverting democracy.