Anthony Downs Quotes

There is constantly a war going on between the two parties for the populist vote. The populist vote is always the swing vote.

As the Republicans run to the crazy Tea Party right, they leave behind the huge mass of genuinely moderate and independent Americans that make up the majority of voters. The ones that used to consider themselves now-extinct moderate Republicans. They're up for grabs. And the Democrats have to grab them!

The people who show up at the early primaries are very passionate and not much interested in compromise.

In every election in American history both parties have their cliches. The party that has the cliches that ring true wins.

I think there's a lot of problems with being a two-party system.

The Doppler Effect: When running in a primary, candidate appears farther to the left or right than he or she in fact is, but as candidate nears the general election, candidate's views appear to approach the center.

Politics is not like a teeter totter. Just because one party goes down, it does not mean that they other party goes up.

Middle class voters are the mega-prize in American politics.

As far as party primaries are concerned, both Republican and Democratic Party primaries are dominated by the most zealous voters, whose views may not reflect the views of most members of their own respective parties, much less the views of those who are going to vote in the November general election. In recent times, each election year has seen each party's nominee selected - or at least subject to veto - by its most extreme wing and then forced to try to move back to the center before the general election. This can only undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of the candidates of both parties.

Our American elections have been fought between parties which, roughly, have represented the forces advocating change and those preferring stability.

I believe in the two-party system.

We have a two-party system that I think can work well if people make an effort.

I think one of the biggest curses in the U.S. is that we have only two political parties.

I hate politics. It's slimy. Any job where people pander for votes, I don't like. The country has gotten so partisan that if you're not on my side, you're the enemy. The only thing I ever try to support is a third party, like Unity08. We need more parties and more choice.

Most pundits regard an election year session as an opportunity for the two parties to frame issues and garner political advantage in advance of the approaching election.

Nevertheless, I don't hesitate to say that elections in Germany are decided in the center, not on the fringes and not in the accumulation of minority interests.

One thing Republicans understand: In American elections, you have to choose from among only two people - not between the perfect and the good.

Romney still enjoys the Republicans' traditional advantage among voters who are veterans, but the Obama campaign is confident it can chip away at that.

If Strom Thurmond could get 30% of the black vote, any Republican can.

There is ample evidence that participation in an electoral process forces any party, regardless of ideology, to moderate its position if it wants to attract voters in large numbers.

There aren’t any independents anymore.

Have we come to the point where the Democratic Party needs a Republican President?

We don't win or lose elections because of [party] rules.

There can be but two great political parties in this country.

The Republicans always looked bad three years out of four. But the year they look good is election year.