Political Opinions Quotes

My principles, and those always received by the republicans, do not admit to removing any person from office merely for a difference of political opinion. Malversations in office, and the exerting of official influence to control the freedom of election are good causes for removal.

Thomas Jefferson

Differences, Office, Principles

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Stepan Arkadyevitch had not chosen his political opinions or his views; these political opinions and views had come to him of themselves, just as he did not choose the shapes of his hat and coat, but simply took those that were being worn.

Leo Tolstoy

Views, Coats, Shapes

Leo Tolstoy (2016). “Anna Karenina (World Classics, Unabridged)”, p.8, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd

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Just as a man's denominational orientation is the result of upbringing, and only the religious need as such slumbers in his soul, the political opinion of the masses represents nothing but the final result of an incredibly tenacious and thorough manipulation of their mind and soul.

Adolf Hitler

Religious, Men, Soul

Adolf Hitler (1998). “Mein Kampf”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Expressing political opinion can be a powerful way to establish a character's voice when writing fiction.

Jen Lancaster

Powerful, Writing, Character

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Differences in political opinions are as unavoidable as, to a certain point, they may perhaps be necessary; but it is exceedingly to be regretted that subjects cannot be discussed with temper on the one hand, or decisions submitted to without having the motives, which led to them, improperly implicated on the other; and this regret borders on chagrin when we find that men of abilities, zealous patriots, having the same general objects in view, and the same upright intentions to prosecute them, will not exercise more charity in deciding on the opinions and actions of one another.

George Washington

Regret, Exercise, Men

Jay A. Parry, Andrew M. Allison, George Washington (1991). “The real George Washington”, Natl Center for Constitutional

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I think our conception of literature should accommodate not only apolitical writers but also those whose political opinions we find unpalatable. Fiction after all comes from a different, less rationally manipulable side of the brain. I am personally very attached to reactionary figures like Dostoyevsky, Hamsun, and Céline.

Pankaj Mishra

Thinking, Brain, Different

Source: www.guernicamag.com

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I had a right to my own political opinions. I am a Southern woman, born with Revolutionary blood in my veins. Freedom of speech and of thought were my birthright, guaranteed, signed and sealed by the blood of our fathers.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow

Freedom, Father, War

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Unlike these powerful grown-ups, children have no ideologies to reinforce, no superstructure of political opinion to promote, no civic equanimity or image to defend, no personal reputation to secure.

Jonathan Kozol

Children, Powerful, Reputation

Jonathan Kozol (2005). “The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America”, p.12, Broadway Books

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I just don't think pastors should turn their pulpits into public policy platforms. It cheapens the gospel. Our congregation doesn't need another political opinion. They need spiritual revelation. They don't need to think about politics on the weekend. They need to be reminded to seek first the kingdom of God.

Mark Batterson

Spiritual, Weekend, Thinking

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There is little doubt that the majority of Mr. Mills supporters in 1865 did not know what his political opinions were, and that they voted for him simply on his reputation as a great thinker.

Millicent Fawcett

Doubt, Littles, Majority

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Such are the mass of the supporters of either party. They derive their political opinions originally from some family tradition or some fanciful preference, but they back them with all the passion of sportsmen. In a vague subconscious way they know it is a game, but they happen to enjoy playing the game.

Hilaire Belloc

Party, Passion, Games

Hilaire Belloc (2008). “The Party System”, p.37, IHS Press

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It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.

Thomas Jefferson

Pain, Hatred, Opponents

Thomas Jefferson (1829). “Memoirs, Correspondence and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Late President of the United States”, p.112

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When are we left-wingers going to learn that we are losing the cultural and political battle with conservatives because we are fractured into narcissistic special-interest groups? Why should an antiwar protestor be so concerned about her dietary identity? The political opinions of vegetarians and meat-eaters are, after all, equally important. And what does it tell us about vegetarians that it would never occur to meat-eaters to carry a sign that reads "Pacifist Pork Chop Lover for Peace" or "Backyard Rib Barbecuer for International Nuclear Disarmament"?

Sherman Alexie

Nuclear Disarmament, Unity, Special

"Lefties Need to Love, Love, Love the White Working Class". Article by Sherman Alexie, www.thestranger.com. April 17, 2003.

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People's sex habits are as well known in Hollywood as their political opinions, and much less criticized.

Ben Hecht

Sex, People, Hollywood

"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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When a company is able to establish a dominant market position, consumers lose meaningful choices. You might not like that Facebook shares your political opinions with Politico, but are you really going to delete all the photos, all the posts, all the connections - the presence you’ve spent years establishing on the world’s dominant social network?

Al Franken

Meaningful, Years, Choices

"How Privacy Has Become an Antitrust Issue" by Al Franken, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 30, 2012.

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I've been offered political shows before, and I don't know anything about politics and I feel uncomfortable making political opinions - there's consequences to them. I often think I'm wrong, so I really don't like getting in political or religious discussions because of the giant possibility that I might be wrong.

Norm MacDonald

Religious, Thinking, Giants

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If you're writing an opinion piece, it's your job to write your opinion. If, on the other hand, you wrote a novel, as Virginia Woolf tells us, it would be inappropriate if you let your novel be influenced by your political opinions.

David Mamet

Jobs, Writing, Virginia

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On a very basic level, many people think celebrities have too much already, so we shouldn't be entitled to our political opinions.

Barbra Streisand

Thinking, People, Levels

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Love of music, of sunsets and sea; a liking for the same kind of people; political opinions that are not radically divergent; a similar stance as we look at the stars and think of the marvelous strangeness of the universe - these are what build a marriage. And it is never to be taken for granted.

Madeleine L'Engle

Stars, Taken, Sunset

Madeleine L'Engle (2016). “Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage”, p.51, Open Road Media

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M. Mabeuf’s political opinion was a passionate fondness for plants, and a still greater one for books. He had, like everybody else, his termination in ist, without which nobody could have lived in those times, but he was neither a royalist, nor a Bonapartist, nor a chartist, nor an Orleanist, nor an anarchist; he was an old-bookist.

Victor Hugo

Book, Passionate, Anarchist

Victor Hugo (1994). “Les Miserables Volume One”, p.461, Wordsworth Editions

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Most people, when they imagine New England, think about old colonial homes, white houses with black shutters, whales, and sexually morbid WASPs with sensible vehicles and polite political opinions. This is incorrect. If you want to get New England right, just imagine a giant mullet in paint-stained pants and a Red Sox hat being pushed into the back of a cruiser after a bar fight.

Matt Taibbi

Home, Fighting, Thinking

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My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs).

J. R. R. Tolkien

Men, Bombs, Anarchy

1943 Letter to Christopher Tolkien, 29 Apr.

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Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5 percent of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty, and the end of welfare and affirmative action.

Ron Paul

Support, Liberty, Action

Ron Paul's newsletter (1992), as quoted in "10 Extreme Claims in Ron Paul’s Controversial Newsletters" by Andy Kroll, www.motherjones.com. January 3, 2012.

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In my own experience, I have been amazed to see how unrealistic are the bases for political opinion in general. Only rarely have I found a person who has chosen any particular political party - democratic or totalitarian - through study and comparison of principles.

Joost Meerloo

Party, Atheism, Principles

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That's the one thing a politician mustn't have - political opinions or principles. He can have prejudices - indeed he must have prejudices and share all the popular political superstitions of the moment as ardently as he can. But he must not have principles. He must never let the people suspect that they cannot eat their cake and have it. He must promise them a defense program and a higher standard of living. He must never use that dreadful little word or.

Helen McCloy

Cake, People, Promise

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