--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never been a partisan, I've never…" description: "\"I've never been a partisan, I've never been a Republican, I've never been a Democrat, ever, which is why I was very frustrated being called a gay Repub..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/andrew-sullivan-4198_democrat_i-ve-never-been-a-partisan-i-ve-never-be_379611.jpg" --- # I've never been a partisan, I've never been a Republican… ![“I've never been a partisan, I've never been a Republican, I've never been a Democrat, ever, which is why I was very frustrated being called a gay Republican when I never attached myself to that.” quote by Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/andrew-sullivan-4198_democrat_i-ve-never-been-a-partisan-i-ve-never-be_379611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/andrew-sullivan-4198_democrat_i-ve-never-been-a-partisan-i-ve-never-be_379611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/andrew-sullivan-4198_democrat_i-ve-never-been-a-partisan-i-ve-never-be_379611.jpg) > “I've never been a partisan, I've never been a Republican, I've never been a Democrat, ever, which is why I was very frustrated being called a gay Republican when I never attached myself to that.” [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political labels can be limiting; personal identity may not fit party lines. **In simple terms:** Labels restrict identity. Key Takeaway Define yourself beyond parties. Themes politics identity labels Mood thoughtful assertive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - public discourse - personal relationships Key Concepts individualism freedom social categories Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel pressured to choose a label? - How can society accept fluid identities? A Different Perspective Party affiliation can still influence perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrat/) [Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Partisan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partisan/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) ## Related quotes > [People in New York, LA, San Francisco, they scratch their head at the concept of a gay Republican, but it really makes sense there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-dick/people-in-new-york-la-san-francisco-they-scratch-their-head-at-the/) [Kirby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-dick/) > [I'm a different kind of Republican. I've introduced a five-year balanced budget. I've introduced the largest tax cut in our history. I stood for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-m-a-different-kind-of-republican-i-ve-introduced-a-five-year/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [Whether a person is straight or gay, Republican, Democrat, good person, not a good person, they're all welcome, because to me, church is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/whether-a-person-is-straight-or-gay-republican-democrat-good-person/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“But Greg wasn’t a Republican like a person who votes to the right. No, he was a Republican like I was Princess Leia. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/but-greg-wasn-t-a-republican-like-a-person-who-votes-to-the-right-no/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [If you want to live like a Republican, you've got to vote for a Democrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/if-you-want-to-live-like-a-republican-you-ve-got-to-vote-for-a/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [I'm a proud Republican, I've certainly been a Republican all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/i-m-a-proud-republican-i-ve-certainly-been-a-republican-all-my-life/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [As partisans of our own way of life, we cannot help thinking in a partisan manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-partisans-of-our-own-way-of-life-we-cannot-help-thinking-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You see, party labels do not ensure unanimity any more than trying to cast the challenge we confront as a people through a partisan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/you-see-party-labels-do-not-ensure-unanimity-any-more-than-trying-to/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [Registering people to vote is not partisan activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-bysiewicz/registering-people-to-vote-is-not-partisan-activity/) [Susan Bysiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-bysiewicz/) > [The trouble is nowadays that parts of the media operate in a very partisan way. There's no point in complaining about it, that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-trouble-is-nowadays-that-parts-of-the-media-operate-in-a-very/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [American media has just become talk radio, incredibly partisan name-calling and op-eds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-smith/american-media-has-just-become-talk-radio-incredibly-partisan-name/) [Shane Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-smith/) > [Let a man be of what side he may in politics, unless he be much more of a partisan than a patriot, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/let-a-man-be-of-what-side-he-may-in-politics-unless-he-be-much-more/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Even as a partisan Republican, I'm not sure a 40-year run is healthy for either party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gillespie/even-as-a-partisan-republican-i-m-not-sure-a-40-year-run-is-healthy/) [Ed Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gillespie/) > [The partisan when he is engaged in a dispute, cares nothing about the rights of the question, but is anxious only to convince his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/the-partisan-when-he-is-engaged-in-a-dispute-cares-nothing-about-the/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [Children's books are by nature partisan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-walters/children-s-books-are-by-nature-partisan/) [Eric Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-walters/) ## More by Andrew Sullivan > [True belief is not about blind submission. It is about open-eyed acceptance, and acceptance requires persistent distance from the truth, and that distance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/true-belief-is-not-about-blind-submission-it-is-about-open-eyed/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [I'm gay. I always have been and I always will be, and I'm happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/i-m-gay-i-always-have-been-and-i-always-will-be-and-i-m-happy/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [What modernity requires is not that you cease living according to your faith, but that you accept that others may differ and that therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/what-modernity-requires-is-not-that-you-cease-living-according-to/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Although I never publicly defended promiscuity, I never publicly attacked it. I attempted to avoid the subject, in part because I felt, and often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/although-i-never-publicly-defended-promiscuity-i-never-publicly/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [The day of reckoning is not just coming for Saddam Hussein. It's coming for the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/the-day-of-reckoning-is-not-just-coming-for-saddam-hussein-it-s/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [For me, friendship has always been the most accessible of relationships - certainly far more so than romantic love. Friendship, I learned, provided a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/for-me-friendship-has-always-been-the-most-accessible-of/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [The first person I came out to was God. And the first conversation I ever had with anybody was in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/the-first-person-i-came-out-to-was-god-and-the-first-conversation-i/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [If religion is about truth, why is it so afraid of error?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/if-religion-is-about-truth-why-is-it-so-afraid-of-error/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [“Even if it's deep unhappiness, it's your unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/even-if-it-s-deep-unhappiness-it-s-your-unhappiness/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Monsters remain human beings. In fact, to reduce them to a subhuman level is to exonerate them of their acts of terrorism and mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/monsters-remain-human-beings-in-fact-to-reduce-them-to-a-subhuman/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Well, in the past, the size of government was one of the more fundamental dividing lines between Right and Left. The Right was supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/well-in-the-past-the-size-of-government-was-one-of-the-more/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [I think essentially corrupting institutions in Washington are turning conservatism into something that is really very creepy, but also emotionally and psychically powerful for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/i-think-essentially-corrupting-institutions-in-washington-are-turning/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [I believe that there are moments in sex that are so awesome that they actually reflect God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/i-believe-that-there-are-moments-in-sex-that-are-so-awesome-that-they/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Every generation is born into, for the most part, a heterosexual family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/every-generation-is-born-into-for-the-most-part-a-heterosexual-family/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [The simple truth is that there isn't a single civil right I would deny to an evangelical Christian. I've defended their freedom of religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/the-simple-truth-is-that-there-isn-t-a-single-civil-right-i-would/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) [Explore all 114 Andrew Sullivan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) ## More Democrat quotes > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [I can tell you this. It is not going to be evenly constituted and when she was Speaker Pelosi, she certainly showed no interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/i-can-tell-you-this-it-is-not-going-to-be-evenly-constituted-and-when/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [I can't see the Democrats working with Donald Trump on tax reform unless the rich get soaked. The thing about this that should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-can-t-see-the-democrats-working-with-donald-trump-on-tax-reform/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“A Republican is a man who wants you to go t'church every Sunday. A Democrat says if a man wants to have a glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-abbott/a-republican-is-a-man-who-wants-you-to-go-t-church-every-sunday-a/) [Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-abbott/) > [The Democrats in particular are do-nothing guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-george-peterson/the-democrats-in-particular-are-do-nothing-guys/) [Peter George Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-george-peterson/) > [The Democrats said, "We don't know what's wrong with America, but we can fix it." The Republicans said, "There's nothing wrong with America, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-democrats-said-we-don-t-know-what-s-wrong-with-america-but-we-can/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I will not be a Democrat or a Republican. They are the problem, not the solution. We need to abolish political parties in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-will-not-be-a-democrat-or-a-republican-they-are-the-problem-not-the/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I'm a growth-is-good Democrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gabrieli/i-m-a-growth-is-good-democrat/) [Chris Gabrieli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gabrieli/) > [The Democrats have been there for working people in our country. That's who we are, trickle-down vs. middle-class economics. 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