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People used to complain in the 50s and 60s and even in the 70s when I was in school, studying political science, that if only we could have two political parties that presented a choice, but there were all these liberal Republicans and there were all these southern Democrats who are conservative so people just don't have a clear choice.

William Kristol

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More quotes by William Kristol

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Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.
William Kristol
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I don't really believe that people read just the stuff they agree with.
William Kristol
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[Donald ] Trump is more important than all of us. He's more important than the media.
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Leo Strauss's discoveries in the history of political philosophy had the effect of liberating his students from the yoke of contemporary thought.
William Kristol
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Mitt Romney has to convince the American public that they need to do something they're not usually inclined to do - replace a sitting president with a challenger. And unlike in 1980 and 1992, when the public was persuaded to do just that, the incumbent president has not been weakened by a primary opponent.
William Kristol
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I don't think you want political parties that are entirely driven by some extremely doctrinal ideology.
William Kristol
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Whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children, I tend to think it’s a good idea.
William Kristol
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I still would say generally that more people have access [to] and take advantage of more diversity of opinion than was once .
William Kristol
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Obviously I think politics is interesting and important and educational.
William Kristol
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I think [Donald Trump] will do something on immigration.
William Kristol
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Patriotism is an indispensable weapon in the defense of civilization against barbarism.
William Kristol
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My sense from talking to college students is that you have a healthier sense of the diversity of opinions or arguments or analysis about issues. In our day it was just sort of, Well gee, this is what the news says so that's the way it is. It didn't really get challenged that much.
William Kristol
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Maybe one thing that has happened is that the claims of non-partisanship of the mainstream media have been a little bit exploded. Mostly I'd say what, if anything has caused the change, are just the obvious technological changes - proliferation of easier access to getting your opinions out and the proliferation of media.
William Kristol
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Conservatives shouldn't count on the Supreme Court to do our work for us on Obamacare. The Court may rule as it should, and strike down the mandate. But it may not. And even if it does, the future of health care in America - and for that matter, the future of limited government - depends ultimately on the verdict of the American people.
William Kristol
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I've always rebelled a little when people say, 'My Jewish values lead me to really care about the poor.' I know some Christians who care about the poor, too.
William Kristol
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We can remove Saddam because that could start a chain reaction in the Arab world that would be very healthy.
William Kristol
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Iraq's always been very secular.
William Kristol
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For all the talk about the bitterness and the partisanship in American politics, is it really that bitter and partisan? Think of American history. Think of Joseph McCarthy. Think of the New Left. Think of [George] McGovern. Think of [Ronald] Reagan. Think of George Wallace. We've had an awful lot of real extremism on both wings.
William Kristol
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Shouldn't Democrats insist that Sen. Durbin step down as their whip, the number two man in their leadership?
William Kristol
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Some journalists just get too wrapped up in daily news cycles and tempests in a teapot that are not going to make any difference. As someone who is older and has been through a few election cycles, maybe this is just being an old fogey, but I think I know what's going to really matter and what's not.
William Kristol