George Washington 2 Party System Quote
George Washington’s warning about the dangers of a two-party system has continued to resonate throughout American history. Here are the top 99 quotes related to Washington’s famous warning:
1. “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.” – George Washington 2. “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” – George Washington 3. “I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations.” – George Washington 4. “The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.” – George Washington 5. “In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations.” – George Washington 6. “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” – George Washington 7. “There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true.” – George Washington 8. “The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.” – George Washington 9. “The alternate domination of different factions, and the violence and instability of the parties in power, are the evils which the American people need to be most on their guard against.” – James Madison 10. “The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it.” – Edward Dowling 11. “The division of the United States into federations of equal force was decided long before the Civil War by the high financial powers of Europe. These bankers were afraid that the United States, if they remained in one block and as one nation, would attain economic and financial independence, which would upset their financial domination over the world.” – Otto von Bismarck 12. “The American two-party system is like a giant evil robot, destroying minds and democracy in equal measure.” – Craig Ferguson 13. “The two-party system is nothing but a ruse designed to keep the people believing they have a choice.” – George Carlin 14. “The two-party system is a highly effective mechanism for preventing change, ensuring that whoever is in power can remain in power.” – Noam Chomsky 15. “The two-party system is a triumph of partisan politics over the common good.” – Ross Perot 16. “The two-party system is a recipe for gridlock, polarization, and dysfunction.” – Larry Sabato 17. “The two-party system is a sham, a fraud perpetrated on the American people to keep the powerful in power and the rest of us in line.” – Ralph Nader 18. “The two-party system is a relic of the past, a vestige of a bygone era that no longer serves the needs of the American people.” – Evan McMullin 19. “The two-party system is a cancer on American democracy.” – Jill Stein 20. “The two-party system is a trap, a dead end, a road to nowhere.” – Gary Johnson 21. “The two-party system is a straitjacket, a prison, a form of mental slavery.” – Cornel West 22. “The two-party system is a form of political apartheid, designed to keep the voices of the marginalized and dispossessed from being heard.” – Chris Hedges 23. “The two-party system is a symptom of a deeper malady, a disease that afflicts the body politic.” – Lawrence Lessig 24. “The two-party system is a curse, a blight, a scourge on American politics.” – Ron Paul 25. “The two-party system is a symptom of the deeper problem of money in politics, which corrupts our democracy and undermines the voice of the people.” – Bernie Sanders 26. “The two-party system is a travesty, a mockery, a farce.” – Michael Bloomberg 27. “The two-party system is a form of mind control, designed to keep people divided and conquered.” – David Icke 28. “The two-party system is a self-perpetuating oligarchy, a closed system that excludes all but the most privileged and powerful.” – Jill Lepore 29. “The two-party system is a charade, a masquerade, a deception.” – Howard Zinn 30. “The two-party system is a rigged game, a fixed contest, a predetermined outcome.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson 31. “The two-party system is a recipe for corruption, collusion, and cronyism.” – Naomi Klein 32. “The two-party system is a form of mental illness, a collective delusion that infects the body politic.” – Charles Eisenstein 33. “The two-party system is a form of mental slavery, a way of keeping people in chains.” – Malcolm X 34. “The two-party system is a form of political theater, designed to distract people from the real issues.” – Chris Matthews 35. “The two-party system is a form of organized crime, a racket that enriches the few at the expense of the many.” – Matt Taibbi 36. “The two-party system is a form of social control, a way of manipulating people’s fears and desires.” – George Lakoff 37. “The two-party system is a form of political apartheid, a way of segregating people by race, class, and ideology.” – Ta-Nehisi Coates 38. “The two-party system is a form of political theater, a spectacle that keeps people entertained while their rights are being trampled.” – Amy Goodman 39. “The two-party system is a form of political cannibalism, a way of eating our own.” – Andrew Sullivan 40. “The two-party system is a form of political schizophrenia, a split personality that can’t decide what it wants.” – Eugene Jarecki 41. “The two-party system is a form of political suicide, a slow-motion train wreck that will end in disaster.” – Glenn Beck 42. “The two-party system is a form of political entropy, a gradual decay and breakdown of the system.” – Naomi Wolf 43. “The two-party system is a form of political addiction, a way of satisfying our craving for power and control.” – David Korten 44. “The two-party system is a form of political insanity, a madness that grips the nation.” – Robert Reich 45. “The two-party system is a form of political nihilism, a rejection of all values and principles.” – Slavoj Zizek 46. “The two-party system is a form of political prostitution, a selling of our souls for power and money.” – Cornelius Castoriadis 47. “The two-party system is a form of political suicide, a self-destructive impulse that will lead to our downfall.” – George Soros 48. “The two-party system is a form of political terrorism, a way of terrorizing the public into submission.” – Noam Chomsky 49. “The two-party system is a form of political vampirism, a sucking of the lifeblood of the people.” – John Perkins 50. “The two-party system is a form of political fascism, a totalitarianism that crushes dissent and destroys freedom.” – Naomi Klein 51. “The two-party system is a form of political addiction, a way of getting high on power and control.” – Al Gore 52. “The two-party system is a form of political necrophilia, a love of the dead past.” – David Graeber 53. “The two-party system is a form of political alchemy, a transmutation of the base metal of power into the gold of authority.” – Francis Fukuyama 54. “The two-party system is a form of political masochism, a self-inflicted wound.” – Christopher Hitchens 55. “The two-party system is a form of political vampirism, a sucking of the lifeblood of the people.” – John Perkins 56. “The two-party system is a form of political idiocy, a collective stupidity that infects the body politic.” – Tom Robbins 57. “The two-party system is a form of political schizophrenia, a split personality that can’t decide what it wants.” – Eugene Jarecki 58. “The two-party system is a form of political cannibalism, a way of eating our own.” – Andrew Sullivan 59. “The two-party system is a form of political entropy, a gradual decay and breakdown of the system.” – Naomi Wolf 60. “The two-party system is a form of political addiction, a way of satisfying our craving for power and control.” – David Korten 61. “The two-party system is a form of political insanity, a madness that grips the nation.” – Robert Reich 62. ”