Political Balance Quotes

Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.

Leftist things have done terrible harm to our party in the past … Socialism may be ruined by rightism and may also be ruined by leftism. China must guard against rightism but should mainly guard against leftism.

The right of each State to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively is essential to the balance of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends.

We will have a government where liberals will stay in power until they get radical and conservatives will have the power until they get reactionary.

The State governments possess inherent advantages, which will ever give them an influence and ascendancy over the National Government, and will for ever preclude the possibility of federal encroachments. That their liberties, indeed, can be subverted by the federal head, is repugnant to every rule of political calculation.

Extremism of the right should not be answered by extremism of the left, because neither extremism will work. The country has been wise in avoiding extremism

The American political process almost instinctively compensates for excessive concentration.

The middle ground in Congress has all but disappeared. The founders intended competing principles and interests to check excesses and create a balance in our politics that would benefit 'we the people.' Gerrymandered districts and a hyped-up fight-night media offer a partial explanation of why we seem to have neither checks nor balances.

The American people will always be progressive as well as conservative.

I've always thought the American eagle needed a left wing and a right wing. The right wing would see to it that economic interests had their legitimate concerns addressed. The left wing would see to it that ordinary people were included in the bargain. Both would keep the great bird on course. But with two right wings or two left wings, it's no longer an eagle and it's going to crash.

The Vatican has to strike a difficult balance between running a country and running a religious institution.

We must not go too far (in creating a pure Republic). A portion of Democracy should be preserved; our own children in a short time will be among the general mass.

People want change but not too much change. Finding that balance is tricky for every politician.

Conservatives complain that the Supreme Court is too liberal. Liberals complain that it's too conservative. Both charges are inaccurate: in reality the Court is a careful political actor that arguably represents the center of gravity of American politics better than most politicians do.

The democratic element has a fortunate effect in the political sphere when it is balanced by another force. We have this advantage over our neighbors, the Americans, who have extreme democracy.

I'm not naive. All politics is about identity, right? Neighborhood politics, cultural politics, issue politics. It's not as though I don't get that. It's just - it has to be, I think, tempered in a way that is for our overall advancement and not to our detriment or obliteration. When I say 'our,' I don't mean just communities of color.

The Framers intended the Senate to be the principle architect of foreign policy. Had original intent prevailed, we would speak of the imperial Senate, not the imperial Presidency.

Thank God for some Republican control of one branch of the government.

Should the old system remain, then I swear before God to you that within a few years we shall see a Stadholder back again for I know of no other counter-weight to the formidable spirit of Aristocracy …

Common wisdom dictates that the vice president should provide balance to the ticket by representing a different part of the country, another set of experiences, or a basketful of electoral votes.

The House of Representatives, which was closer to the population, had much less power. The executive was more or less an administrator, not an emperor like today.

If enough people would come out the right wing, the extremists couldn't dominate.

Candidates are carefully selected by both parties to give proper weight to Jew, Protestant and Catholic, and certain posts are considered the sole possession of certain ethnic groups. The propriety of these practices is something the courts sensibly have left to the good or bad judgment of the electorate.

Chinese leaders are walking a tightrope in terms of maintaining internal stability so that the solid platform that has produced amazing results can continue to improve the quality of life for more of its citizens.

We need to punch back against the extremes of both the left and the right and define the terms of the debate ourselves.