Category - Rick Perlstein

Discover the thoughtful Quotes of Rick Perlstein, a philosopher and author. Our collection of his most impactful quotes reflects his deep understanding of language, philosophy, and history. Motivational Quotes of Rick Perlstein
Whether seeking thought-provoking reflections or academic wisdom, Rick Perlsteins words offer a rich source of intellectual inspiration. #RickPerlstein Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Ronald Reagan knew audiences. It was a key element of his political genius. One of the things at which brilliant politicians are better than mediocre ones is smelling new public concerns over the horizon before they are picked up by polls – before the public even knows to call them ‘issues’ at all.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Presidents are always also storytellers, purveyors of useful national mythologies. And surprisingly enough, Richard Nixon, this awkward man who didn’t even really like people, had not been so bad at this duty – at least in the first four years of his presidency.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

In Ronald Reagan’s chaotic childhood, the imagination was armor. There is nothing unusual about that; transcending the doubts, hesitations, and fears swirling around you by casting yourself internally as the hero of your own adventure story is a characteristic psychic defense mechanism of the Boy Who Disappears.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Only liberals know how to make you freer on the job, which is where most of us suffer the gravest indignities in our lives.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

There is no freedom without groceries. There are no groceries without freedom. What people call ‘capitalism’ and ‘socialism’ are actually one and inseparable. It’s a virtuous circle.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Polling only works in a country without a depressed, frightened populace. Where the public trusts authorities enough to tell them the truth without fear of retribution.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Republican governors are more lunatic than they used to be – as attested by all the ones so eager to turn down free federal money to qualify more of their poor citizens for Medicaid under Obamacare. Meanwhile, some states have taken the money only to hoard it.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

The fact is that the Democratic Party in modern times has always had a conservative wing, one frequently as strong or stronger than its liberal wing, and as such, when progressives speak of the party as a vehicle that naturally belongs to them, as if by right – until conservatives stole it from them – they weaken progressivism.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

It’s almost a very rough rule of thumb: when Democrats are able to successfully frame the meaning of an election season around middle-class fears, Democrats win the election; when Republicans are able to successfully frame the meaning of an election season around cultural fears, Republicans win the election.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

Sometimes I like to think that the responsibility of every new generation of Democrats is to devise a program that mints new Democrats for another seventy-five years or so.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

For liberals, generally speaking, honoring procedures – means – is the core of what being ‘principled’ means. For conservatives, fighting for the right outcome – ends – even at the expense of procedural nicety, is what being ‘principled’ means.

– Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein

We Americans love to cite the ‘political spectrum’ as the best way to classify ideologies. The metaphor is incorrect: it implies symmetry.

– Rick Perlstein

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