Political Parties Quotes

“There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”
― John Adams, The works of John Adams,: Second President of the United States

“There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville

“Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar.”
― Abraham Lincoln

“...they say if you don't vote, you get the government you deserve, and if you do, you never get the results you expected.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.”
― George Washington

“All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.”
― John Arbuthnot

“The dismaying truth is that birtherism is part of a larger pattern of rejection of reality that has taken hold of intimidating segments of one of the two political parties that alternate in power in our governing institutions. It is akin to the view that global warming is a hoax, or that the budget can be balanced through spending cuts alone, or that contraception causes abortion, or that evolution is just another theory, on a par with the theory that the earth is six thousand years old.”
― Hendrik Hertzberg

“A lot of lip service gets paid to being honest, but no one really wants to hear it unless what's being said is the party line.”
― Colin Quinn

“[T]he enduring problem for liberals, as for everyone else, is not whether history will judge them wise or foolish regarding the war on terrorism; it is, rather, the way that the past decade has splintered them away from other Americans. This fracture comes with a steep price: in today's toxic atmosphere, liberals are no less cynical, shortsighted, and parochial than anyone else, and they understand their fellow-Americans just as badly as they themselves are understood. When liberals look at red-state voters, they see either a mob of pious know-nothings or the insensible victims of militarism and class warfare. Yet.... [such people] defy fixed categories, which means that they have to be figured out the hard way--on their own terms.”
― George Packer

“The key idea here is “negative partisanship”: partisan behavior driven not by positive feelings toward the party you support but negative feelings toward the party you oppose. If you’ve ever voted in an election feeling a bit bleh about the candidate you backed, but fearful of the troglodyte or socialist running against her, you’ve been a negative partisan. It turns out a lot of us have been negative partisans. A 2016 Pew poll found that self-described independents who tended to vote for one party or the other were driven more by negative motivations. Majorities of both Republican- and Democratic-leaning independents said a major reason for their lean was the other party’s policies were bad for the country; by contrast, only a third of each group said they were driven by support for the policies of the party they were voting for.”
― Ezra Klein, Why We're Polarized

“His mind filled with visions of a decadent kleptocracy in rapid decline, abetted by both political parties. America's masses, fed on processed poison bought with a food stamp swipe card. Low-skill workers, structurally unable to ever contribute again and too dumb to know their old jobs weren't coming back. The banks in Gotham leaching the last drops of wealth out of the country. Corporations unrestrained by any notion of national interest. The system of property law in shambles. The world drowning in debt.”
― George Packer, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

“In 1959, Vice-President Nixon, speaking to members of California’s Commonwealth Club, was asked if he’d like to see the parties undergo an ideological realignment—the sort that has since taken place—and he replied, “I think it would be a great tragedy . . . if we had our two major political parties divide on what we would call a conservative-liberal line.” He continued, “I think one of the attributes of our political system has been that we have avoided generally violent swings in Administrations from one extreme to the other. And the reason we have avoided that is that in both parties there has been room for a broad spectrum of opinion.” Therefore, “when your Administrations come to power, they will represent the whole people rather than just one segment of the people.”
― Jeffrey Frank

“The church… stands as a political alternative to every nation, witnessing to the kind of social life possible for those that have been formed by the story of Christ.”
― Stanley Hauerwas, A Community Of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic

“And yet, we have not changed so much, have we? We still coach Little League and care for our parents, we cry at romantic comedies and mow our lawns, we laugh at our eccentricities and apologize for harsh words, we want to be loved and wish for a better world. That is not to absolve us of responsibility for our politics, but to trace a lament oft heard when we step away from politics: Aren’t we better than this?

I think we are, or we can be. But toxic systems compromise good individuals with ease. They do so not by demanding we betray our values but by enlisting our values such that we betray each other. What is rational and even moral for us to do individually becomes destructive when done collectively.”
― Ezra Klein, Why We're Polarized

“No party in the worldd will ever prevent me from preferring Truth to the Party. As soon as falsehood comes in, I am ill at ease. My role is to denounce it. It is to Truth that I am attached. If the Party abandons it, then I abandon the Party.
It is essential to see things as they are and not as we should have liked them to be.
Andre Gide”
― André Gide, Afterthoughts: A Sequel to Back From the U.S.S.R.

“Americans have long had an authoritarian streak. It was not unusual for figures such as Coughlin, Long, McCarthy, and Wallace to gain the support of a sizable minority—30 or even 40 percent—of the country. We often tell ourselves that America’s national political culture in some way immunizes us from such appeals, but this requires reading history with rose-colored glasses. The real protection against would-be authoritarians has not been Americans’ firm commitment to democracy but, rather, the gatekeepers—our political parties.”
― Steven Levitsky, How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future

“No party in the world will ever prevent me from preferring Truth to the Party. As soon as falsehood comes in, I am ill at ease. My role is to denounce it. It is to Truth that I am attached. If the Party abandons it, then I abandon the Party.
It is essential to see things as they are and not as we should have liked them to be.”
― André Gide, Afterthoughts: A Sequel to Back From the U.S.S.R.

“On patriotism, I have very little political trust for people who love their country only when their preferred party is in power.”
― Criss Jami

“Voting is about choosing the party that most reflects your current values.”
― Steven Magee

“In countries Where development is a Right and not a tool of trade; politicians using development projects to buy loyalty and votes, parliaments are more useful than statehouses. Where leaders- elected and appointed practice professionalism, independence, autonomy and dare to trust the courage of their convictions, corruption doesn't thrive. Most democracies have turned into cesspools because of corruption.”
― Njau Kihia

“When you operate within a political party, you have to listen to its orders. The party can tell you to do this or that. If the party wants you to kill someone, you have to kill him, even if he is your brother.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Begins Here: Palestinians and Israelis Listening to Each Other

“Political discourse should be a platform for informed debate, policy discussions, and the presentation of ideas, rather than a space for personal attacks or the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes. By adhering to these guidelines, political parties can contribute to a more constructive and respectful public discourse.”
― Shivanshu K. Srivastava

“Both major political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have moved further to the left and right of the political spectrum, respectively. This has resulted in a decline in bipartisanship and a rise in political tribalism. This has created an environment where compromise and pragmatic solutions are often seen as betrayals of core principles, further exacerbating the divide between the two parties.
In this climate, more extreme voices have gained prominence, and the political center has been increasingly marginalized. Social media and the 24-hour news cycle have further contributed to this polarization, as politicians and voters are exposed to echo chambers that reinforce their pre-existing beliefs and demonize those who hold opposing views.”
― David D. Roberts, Political Campaign Playbook: A practical guide to success in politics, government, elections, and life

“Political parties are national and democratic assets, not leaders, don’t destroy them; however, remove corrupt and criminal ones from them. Undoubtedly, political parties constitute the key mother pillar of all pillars of democracy; no state can achieve its goals and interests without them.”
― Ehsan Sehgal

“A party, or any institution that is in power or opposition, does all things to get only its own goal and interests, no matter in a legal way or through illegal resources, like forces, print and electronic media, and negative propaganda among the people, spending the millions of money for this. It is called dirty politics by the support of evil spirits.

Most of the political parties criticize the party in power, not for the best of the people, but to get the power for themselves.

Political parties are national and democratic assets, not leaders; don’t destroy them; however, remove corrupt and criminal ones from them. Undoubtedly, political parties constitute the key mother pillar of all pillars of democracy; no state can achieve its goals and interests without them.

The day you vote is an opportunity to vote not for a leader but for a party manifesto and constructive thoughts and plans. Indeed, you will have good fortune, a bright and joyful social status, and prosperity will always be a part of your society and life.

Political parties in every society are a convenient avenue and beneficial wager for those donors who donate and rule the world, not through bona fide democracy and its genuine process. As a result, the people of the world remain slaves even in a civilized environment in their societies.”

A coalition, in a political term, defines a conditional and non-significant journey that starts risking the collapse without notice, whereas it also mirrors a hollow and unstable organ to decide and solve wide-scale subjects and issues.

In the third world, political leaders run political parties in the frame of their factory management.”
― Ehsan Sehgal

“The position of a man who not only refuses from a desire for independence to belong to any of the existing political parties, but is also for very definite reasons against every one of them, and yet still is aware of the major importance of political realities, the position of such a man is uncomfortable... and it is mine”
― Jacques Maritain, Integral Humanism, Freedom in the Modern World, and A Letter on Independence, Revised Edition

“Always capitalist policy consists in dividing the working class by making it adhere to two opposite capitalist parties.”
― Anton Pannekoek, Workers' Councils

“Phenomenal is the strategy of rulers and political parties in hiding their own failures and fallacies behind the tale of an alleged external threat to their country or existence.”
― Claudys Kantara, Rebel Thoughts of Wisdom: Inspiring Conscious Change for Personal & Collective Growth

“In 1999, when Vladimir Putin came to power, many thought he was wonderful. He was young, he didn't drink like Yeltsin, and he seemed to be saying all the right things. That strengthened the hope that everything would at last be put right. This talk really annoyed me. I didn't like the idea of Putin as "successor"; I wanted a genuine presidential election, with competing candidates. If we imagine that Putin was a Communist who campaigned and won fairly, I would have been very upset, but I would have accepted the result. Now, though, Putin was being foisted on Russia as payment for his loyalty and willingness to provide legal immunity to the former president and his family.

I knew that I couldn't believe a word Putin said. his appointment made me determined to resist. I didn't want someone of that kind to be the leader of my country.

My feelings were very strong. I wanted to register my presence as far removed from Putin as possible, on the opposite side of the political arena, so that later, when I was a grandfather, I would be able to tell my grandchildren, "I was against it from the outset!" All that remained was to decide which party to join.

The Communists still had the largest organization and were the obvious choice for someone who wanted to make it clear they were opposed to Yeltsin's successor, but for me the merest hint of the Soviet past was like a red cape to a bull. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia seemed to be in opposition, but I did not trust its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, to stand up to the new regime.

In the democratic wing, there were the Union of Right Forces (URF) and Yabloko. The former included some well-known officials like Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemstov (both of whom seemed to me then to be Young Community League types). Yabloko, which bore more resemblance to a bunch of amiable nerds, was the only genuinely democratic party, overtly opposed to Putin, and that seemed preferable.

My decision must have seemed odd to some people, and I might have hesitated longer, but I wanted my position to be absolutely clear: I would join the opposition. When there was talk that the electoral threshold to the Duma could be raised from 5 percent to 7 percent, and there were doubts as to whether a democratic party would be able to achieve the new minimum, that only increased my motivation. So I took myself off to Yabloko's headquarters in the center of Moscow.

It was not at all how I had pictured the headquarters of a parliamentary party. It was a complete shambles.”
― Alexei Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir

“I constantly cause bafflement when discussing Russian political parties with my Western audiences, who are used to operating within a clearly defined political spectrum: right, left, social democrat, liberal. Those categories do not apply in Russia. Our Communists are not "left-wing" in the classic sense: they do not support minorities and do not campaign with any vigor to get the minimum wage raised. Russian Communists are far more conservative than even the American right. Legalization of guns and the ban on abortion are hotly debated in the Western world, but are of much less concern to Russian voters. Our first priority needs to be making sure we have free speech and fair elections and that human rights are observed.”
― Alexei Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir