Joshua Chamberlain Quotes

I'm pretty middle-of-the-road. There are some issues I'm more conservative on.

I really am opinionated, but not for long. I have found myself coming off of what I think of something because the guy I'm talking to makes better sense than I am. I have so many points of view, I can't keep track of 'em, because I talk to too many people... I'm not so opinionated that I won't budge.

I am neither left wing nor right wing. I am middle-of-the-bird.

I had a reputation of being somewhat moderate, partly, I think, because I wasn't a 'bomb thrower' like some of my conservative colleagues, and partly because I got along with people all across the political spectrum.

By temperament and disposition and emotions, I'm a liberal; but in my beliefs about what's best for the country, I'm a centrist.

Some things I think are very conservative, or very liberal. I think when someone falls into one category for everything, I'm very suspicious. It doesn't make sense to me that you'd have the same solution to every issue.

It is amazing that the wisdom of the chattering class to the Republicans is always, always, always 'Surrender your principles and agree with the Democrats.' That's been true for my entire lifetime.

I tend to vote Republican, but I don't like the hardcore views on either side, and I'm not in bed with anybody.

I'm not sure if President Obama is an ideologue or a pragmatist. I am hoping and praying he's a pragmatist.

Persistence in one opinion has never been considered a merit in political leaders.

All Fundamentalists are conservatives, but not all conservatives are Fundamentalists. The best conservatives can often give lessons to the liberals in true liberality of spirit, but the Fundamentalist program is essentially illiberal and intolerant.

We have got to be open. We cannot be a single-issue party or a single-philosophy party.” …. I am concerned about the undercurrent of rigid conservatism where you don’t dare not toe the line.

Lincoln was a flip flopper in the best sense of the word.

I find the world just too complex to embrace a single ideological point of view.

Because a lot of people really associate liberalism and Democrats with tolerance, and I found it to be quite the opposite. They're tolerant as long as you agree with them! I felt like not only was I tolerant, I was curious and open-minded.

To me, it really doesn't matter where they line me up.

I think that our leadership, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, are taking the right approach.

I try not to make it personal, and I don't care about partisan politics one way or the other.

I've always had this commitment to not being in one thing.

I have said this before: I'm an Independent, I have voted for both parties.

I like to see myself as open-minded.

And, when it comes to politics, it can be awfully difficult to put your desires aside and to acknowledge that the world is a much messier place, where open-minded people might be conservative and liberals may well be conscientious.

Do we want our state to be defined by the bankrupt and intolerant values of Donald Trump? Do we want the values of hyperpartisanship and obstruction that we see in the tea party Congress that Steve Pearce has embraced?

We must have courage to set partisanship aside and embrace the best ideas and solutions no matter which side of the aisle they come from.

When I first ran for Congress, I decided that I would not take pledges to vote for or against any issue. I believe the practice of taking pledges contributes to the worst of the partisan gridlock in Washington, preventing many members of Congress from even considering a reasonable compromise offered by the other side.