“The 2016 presidential election is ripe for the emergence of a game-changing political leader who either dramatically reforms one of the existing parties or mounts an independent bid.” PoliticalGamesPartyLeaderIndependentElectionReformPresidentialRipeEmergencePolitical LeadersPresidential Election Author:Ron Fournier
“Campaign finance and ethics reform only works if it curtails all special interest groups equally and does not carve out any exceptions to benefit one party or another. 'Pay to play' reform was passed to limit the influence of big spending contractors over the public officials from whom they are trying to obtain work.” IfsTryingDoePlayBigsInterestPartyPayGroupsInfluenceSpecialLimitsBenefitsEthicsSpendingCampaignsFinanceReformOfficialsExceptionSpecial InterestsContractorInterest GroupsPublic OfficialsCampaign FinanceSpecial Interest Groups Author:Thomas Kean, Jr.
“I have always been a critic of government policy. I was in government for more than five years. Before that I was a critic. Within the government I was a critic, pushing for reform and always at odds with power brokers within the party.” YearsGovernmentPartyFivePolicyCriticismCriticsReformFive YearsPushingOddsBrokersGovernment Policy Author:Jonathan Moyo
“They, the conservatives, are the real outsides, they tell us, gazing with disgust upon the ludicrous manners of the high and mighty. Or, they tell us, they are rough-and-ready proles, laughing along with us at the efforts of our social "betters" to reform and improve us. That they are often, in fact, people of privilege doing their utmost to boost the fortunes of a political party that is the traditional tool of the privileged is a contradiction that does not trouble them.” PeopleDoeRealFactsPoliticalSocialPartyEffortLaughingTroubleReadyToolsFortunePrivilegeTraditionalReformMannersContradictionRoughDisgustingPrivilegedPolitical PartiesBoostGazing Author:Thomas Frank
“We all know that election reform takes time. That's because those who have benefited from the system are the ones who fight hardest to preserve it. So if we're going to succeed, we need an independent coalition of citizens who believe in reform, who believe that our election laws should treat every voter equally, who believe that low levels of competition and participation are not healthy for democracy. The Independence Party is helping to build that coalition and I am happy to join you in doing so.” IfsKnowsNeedsShouldBelieveHelpingLawFightingLevelsPartyDemocracyCitizensHealthySucceedLowsTreatsIndependentElectionIndependenceCompetitionHardestReformPreservesVotersTake TimeParticipationCoalitionsLow Level Author:Michael Bloomberg
“The Liberal Democrat Party and the Conservative Party come at things very differently when it comes to Europe. When it comes to political reform, we have a much greater tradition in the Liberal Democrats of social justice and fairness than the Conservatives do.” PoliticalSocialJusticePartyGreaterEuropeTraditionSocial JusticeDemocratConservativeReformFairnessConservative PartyPolitical Reform Author:Nick Clegg
“The future of the Republican Party, all the different folks looking to lead the Republican Party at the national level in the future, recognize we should do immigration reform.” ShouldDifferentLevelsPartyRepublicanFolksImmigrationReformRepublican PartyImmigration Reform Author:Grover Norquist
“One point in my public life: I did all I could for the reform of the civil service, for the building up of the South, for a soundcurrency, etc., etc., but I never forgot my party.... I knew that all good measures would suffer if my Administration was followed by the defeat of my party. Result, a great victory in 1880. Executive and legislature both completely Republican.” IfsPoliticalSufferingResultsPartyBuildingVictoryRepublicanSouthDefeatAdministrationReformEtcExecutivesPolitical PartiesPublic LifeLegislatureBuilding UpGreat VictoryCivil Service Author:Rutherford B. Hayes
“All of the candidates agree that the Democratic Party needs to undergo fundamental reforms.” NeedsPartyAgreeFundamentalsDemocraticReformCandidatesDemocratic Party Author:Martin Frost
“I am for peace, retrenchment and reform, the watchword of the great Liberal Party thirty years ago.” YearsPartyYears AgoReformThirtyReformationThirty YearsLiberal PartyGreat Liberal Author:John Bright
“For many years, we have had these campaign finance reforms, and they have been failures. Money is more coursing through our system than ever before. Incumbents have used the laws to advantage themselves. And one of the reasons I think they have been failures is we have tried to crush down the money in places like the political parties, and it has squished out into opaque super PACs and sort of hidden channels.” ThinkingYearsHas BeensReasonLawPoliticalUsedPartyAdvantageCampaignsFinanceReformCrushPolitical PartiesIncumbentsOpaquePacsCampaign FinanceCampaign Finance Reform Author:Mark Shields
“This is a very special Greek kind of socialist, all the social democratic parties in Europe are against this idea and I think that the dividing line today in the Greek political system is not the centre right or socialist, the real dividing line is between those parties and those political forces who really believe that Greece should stay in the Eurozone and make the efforts and change, and make the reforms and change the old and Mr Tsipras who is really resisting any kind of change in Greece.” ThinkingShouldBelieveKindIdeasRealTodayPoliticalForceSocialLinesPartyEffortSpecialEuropeDemocraticReformGreekSocialistCentreGreeceDemocratic PartyPolitical SystemsResistingDividingEurozone Author:Dora Bakoyannis