Mark Steyn Quotes

In Shahjahanpur, there was not much of a political fight. It was my family constituency and I knew all the voters and their problems and needs.

Memo to White House: Calling voters stupid is not a winning strategy.

To be a statesman, you must first get elected.

Candidates are making lasting impressions on voters, not just primary voters, in how they campaign.

Without television, Richard Nixon would not have a chance. He would not have a prayer of being elected because the press would not let him get through to the people.

In politics, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. It breeds votes.

Influencing voters is the crux of all poll campaigns.

The Conservative Party have got to ask themselves, 'How do we persuade people who at the moment are voting Labour and Liberal Democrat to vote Conservative

Voters don't have to love him, Romney advisers say, but they will respect him.

It is not through any combinations of politicians that the outcome of an electoral campaign is decided.

Running for office is similar to being a trial lawyer in a very long trial. It requires adrenaline and stamina; it requires being in shape mentally and emotionally. It's a marathon.

Campaign boot camp started as an opportunity to work in a grassroots way with people who were running for Congress. Colleagues on the Democratic National Committee were batting around different possibilities. I said, 'We should have boot camps.'

The evidence that things are changing fast can be seen in the dramatic increase in the influence of blogging. We should be collecting emails as we used to collect telephone numbers and using them to better communicate our message to key voters.

As the Republican nominee, it was Romney's job to find a way to speak to some of those groups of voters and offer practical solutions to their difficulties that both resonated with them and sounded plausible to them.

Voters are looking for credibility and are wary of polish. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter which candidate can more deftly read a teleprompter.

Nobody understood better than Mr. Lincoln the obvious truth that in politics it does not suffice merely to nominate candidates. Something must also be done to elect them.

There is literally no such thing as an idea that cannot be expressed well and articulately to today's voters in 30 seconds.

I recognize what [political] conventions are all about—a cross between a clambake and a pep rally.

In something as important as an election, a little name-calling sometimes breaks out.

The general assumption of the democratic process is that you identify candidates who come closest to you in terms of values and positions. The problem is many voters are never given the kind of information they need to make the decision.

Candidates talk about issues that voters want to hear about.

Trace out also individuals in every region, inform yourself about them, seek them out, secure that in their own districts they shall canvas for you, and be, as it were, candidates in your interest.

You should be strenuous in seeing as many people as possible every day of every possible class and order, for from the mere numbers of these you can make a guess of the amount of support you will get on the balloting

The most successful political candidates will be those who can tap American anger without becoming a target.

You can't win an election unless you have a message.