Peggy Noonan Quotes

Democracy is that fine art of compromise.

You can never solve a problem without talking to people with whom you disagree. The United States Senate is predicated and based on consensus building. That was certainly the vision of the founding fathers.

Democracy is finding proximate solutions to insoluble problems.

A full and fair discussion is essential to democracy.

Majority rule is not the norm for solving issues or problems.

In government, consensus is more important than command; persuasion not only works better than arrogance, it's vital to the democratic process.

Democracy affords debate, discussion and dissent.

In a democracy, not everyone gets what they want.

Power is action; the electoral principle is discussion. No political action is possible when discussion is permanently established.

The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.

Elections are about choosing sides, but inaugurations are about closing ranks.

If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm that the essence of democracy is melodrama.

As long as we're in a democracy, I have to give what I think the majority of people will enjoy.

And that is my definition of democracy, the right to be in a minority and not be suppressed.

My message is that Democracy is not an alien invention. It is a way of solving problems in our society.

Discussion is the bedrock of American democracy.

A democracy requires a certain amount of common ground.

In a democracy we assume that people can define their own interest and vote that way.

Democratic processes require time.

It is not suffrage that gives life to democracy; it is our democratic society that gives life to suffrage.

Democracy in a nation of 300 million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That's just how it is.

Consensus is the essence of the legislative process.

I’m not allergic to democracy. The only advice I have is let’s give it a different name and keep doing it.

In democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not its taste, but its effect,...

In democracy - and the good thing about democracy, big change does not happen quickly, and you need a buy-in and a convincing, a selling, an arm-twisting to get big change. And that takes time.