--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You need a Democratic Party which is a…" description: "\"You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party, which makes decisions from the bottom on up, not just from the top on down.\" — Bernie Sanders" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg" --- # You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party… ![“You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party, which makes decisions from the bottom on up, not just from the top on down.” quote by Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg) > “You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party, which makes decisions from the bottom on up, not just from the top on down.” [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A party should be built from local members upward, ensuring decisions reflect ordinary citizens rather than elite leaders. **In simple terms:** Grassroots decision making over top‑down control. Key Takeaway Empower local voices. Themes democracy participation grassroots leadership Mood inspirational determined Type political motivational When to use this quote - local campaign planning - party platform development - community meetings - policy workshops Key Concepts bottom‑up governance political empowerment community organizing Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure grassroots input truly shapes policy? - What mechanisms protect against elite capture? A Different Perspective Top‑down structures often resist change and can marginalize dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-party/) [Grassroots Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grassroots-party-2388338/) [Need Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-democratic-317437/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Party Grassroots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party-grassroots-553777/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [We need a Democratic Party open, that is bringing working people into the party, that is bringing young people, that bringing all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-need-a-democratic-party-open-that-is-bringing-working-people-into/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [What a grassroots party is about is people getting excited, getting involved in the local political process, saying, we want our candidate to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-a-grassroots-party-is-about-is-people-getting-excited-getting/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We are a grassroots party. We always have been. That's been the strength of the GOP.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steele/we-are-a-grassroots-party-we-always-have-been-that-s-been-the/) [Michael Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steele/) > [To strengthen the grassroots at the party - at the party unit, at the county level, at the precinct level, and then to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/to-strengthen-the-grassroots-at-the-party-at-the-party-unit-at-the/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [We're going to stand with working people. We're going to take on the billionaire class. We're going the take on the drug companies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-re-going-to-stand-with-working-people-we-re-going-to-take-on-the/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [A failure to listen to the party's grassroots was a charge regularly levelled at Theresa May - particularly over Brexit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cleverly/a-failure-to-listen-to-the-party-s-grassroots-was-a-charge-regularly/) [James Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cleverly/) > [“She didn’t need to be the Democratic Nominee in order to be a catalyst for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/she-didn-t-need-to-be-the-democratic-nominee-in-order-to-be-a/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [I think, first and foremost, showing up, making sure that Democrats focus not just on elections, not just on presidential elections, but we begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/i-think-first-and-foremost-showing-up-making-sure-that-democrats/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [Well you know I'm very supportive of what the Tea Party is trying to do. They're very concerned with spending, the deficit, the bailouts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boozman/well-you-know-i-m-very-supportive-of-what-the-tea-party-is-trying-to/) [John Boozman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boozman/) > [I think that the tea party, grassroots ideology will win every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-gallagher/i-think-that-the-tea-party-grassroots-ideology-will-win-every-time/) [Mike Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-gallagher/) > [Global governance need not take a democratic form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/global-governance-need-not-take-a-democratic-form/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [God says, "Come out of her my people, that you be not partakers of her sins and her plagues, for her sins have reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/god-says-come-out-of-her-my-people-that-you-be-not-partakers-of-her/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [I think, the most progress I have agenda, the progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party. So we have got to continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-think-the-most-progress-i-have-agenda-the-progressive-platform-in/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [ How about something more interesting? How about you come forward and say, \[Donald\] Trump supporters, I absolutely know what you think about the Republican… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/how-about-something-more-interesting-how-about-you-come-forward-and/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I believe the Democratic Party has got to be firmly on the side of working families, taking on the big money interests, who today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-believe-the-democratic-party-has-got-to-be-firmly-on-the-side-of/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## More by Bernie Sanders > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [As the longest serving Independent in the history of the United States Congress, as somebody who came into office by defeating an incumbent Democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-the-longest-serving-independent-in-the-history-of-the-united/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [What we have got to do immediately is to say that racism and xenophobia is totally unacceptable and we will stand with the 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-we-have-got-to-do-immediately-is-to-say-that-racism-and/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [In 1999, Hoffmann-LaRoche paid a $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices for certain vitamins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-1999-hoffmann-laroche-paid-a-500-million-criminal-fine-for-leading/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We need a strategy. And the goal is to bring millions of people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-need-a-strategy-and-the-goal-is-to-bring-millions-of-people/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We are living at a time where a handful of people have wealth beyond comprehension - huge yachts, jet planes, tens of billions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/we-are-living-at-a-time-where-a-handful-of-people-have-wealth-beyond/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The deficit crisis is real and must be addressed. But it cannot be solved on the backs of the weak and vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-deficit-crisis-is-real-and-must-be-addressed-but-it-cannot-be/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The Palestinian people's needs must be respected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-palestinian-people-s-needs-must-be-respected/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Hillary Clinton wants to see that all Americans have the right to choose a public option in their health care exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/hillary-clinton-wants-to-see-that-all-americans-have-the-right-to/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If you want to know if your food contains gluten, aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats or MSG, you simply read the ingredients listed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/if-you-want-to-know-if-your-food-contains-gluten-aspartame-high/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [It reminds me in some ways of the debate taking place in this country and around the world in the late 1930s. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/it-reminds-me-in-some-ways-of-the-debate-taking-place-in-this-country/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am sure that there are some single payer advocates who think the only thing worth fighting for is single payer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-am-sure-that-there-are-some-single-payer-advocates-who-think-the/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The case to be made is that we have got to get people involved - continue to get people involved in the political process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-case-to-be-made-is-that-we-have-got-to-get-people-involved/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) [Explore all 853 Bernie Sanders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## More Bottom quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [Well, the bottom line is that I'm extremely pleased with 'The Stupids.' I'm pleased that it's coming out, and it should look good. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis/well-the-bottom-line-is-that-i-m-extremely-pleased-with-the-stupids-i/) [John Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [When I hit bottom, I can attack the problem and get to where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-hit-bottom-i-can-attack-the-problem-and-get-to-where-i-want-to/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The bottom line, in the professional level, no matter where you go, there's going to be competition. That's what it is. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-tolzien/the-bottom-line-in-the-professional-level-no-matter-where-you-go/) [Scott Tolzien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-tolzien/) > [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/one-thing-you-learned-as-a-cubs-fan-when-you-bought-you-ticket-you/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [The political satirist usually votes against their own interests, but the bottom line is that it doesn't really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/the-political-satirist-usually-votes-against-their-own-interests-but/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) [Browse all 2,558 Bottom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party, which makes decisions from the bottom on up, not just from the top on down.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bernie Sanders" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-grassroots-party-which-makes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bottom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-grassroots-party-which-makes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/bernie-sanders-233_bottom_you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-g_282227.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You need a Democratic Party which is a grassroots party, which makes decisions from the bottom on up, not…” — Bernie Sanders", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bernie Sanders", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You need a Democratic Party which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-grassroots-party-which-makes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/you-need-a-democratic-party-which-is-a-grassroots-party-which-makes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```