--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a party is in opposition, it…" description: "\"When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job. But when it comes to power, it must govern. Easy rhetoric is over, the press of reality beco..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png" --- # When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job… ![“When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job. But when it comes to power, it must govern. Easy rhetoric is over, the press of reality becomes irresistible. By necessity, it adopts some of the policies it had once denounced. And a new national consensus is born.” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png) > “When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job. But when it comes to power, it must govern. Easy rhetoric is over, the press of reality becomes irresistible. By necessity, it adopts some of the policies it had once denounced. And a new national consensus is born.” [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Opposition parties naturally oppose, but when in power they must govern, often adopting previously rejected policies, leading to a new consensus. **In simple terms:** Opposition changes when in power, forcing policy shifts. Key Takeaway Accept that power changes priorities. Themes politics governance compromise realism Mood cautious reflective Type political analytical When to use this quote - election aftermath - legislative negotiations - policy implementation - public expectation management Key Concepts policy adaptation consensus building Questions to Reflect On - How do parties maintain integrity after winning? - What mechanisms prevent policy flip‑flopping? A Different Perspective Power may force betrayals of prior ideals, causing public distrust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Consensus Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus-born-2456372/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Irresistible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irresistible/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [National Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-consensus-2456371/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Opposition Opposes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition-opposes-2456370/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Party Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party-opposition-1150421/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric/) ## Related quotes > [The desire to see Okinawa returned to Japan developed into a broad national consensus among our people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eisaku-sato/the-desire-to-see-okinawa-returned-to-japan-developed-into-a-broad/) [Eisaku Sato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eisaku-sato/) > [“Opposition is anything that opposes (1) us, (2) the work God desires to do in us, and (3) the work God desires to do through us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/opposition-is-anything-that-opposes-1-us-2-the-work-god-desires-to-do/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [There has to be a national consensus. We cannot legislate without overwhelming national consensus that religious and communal groups should be totally banned from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/there-has-to-be-a-national-consensus-we-cannot-legislate-without/) [Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/) > [OPPOSITION, n. In politics the party that prevents the Government from running amuck by hamstringing it. The King of Ghargaroo, who had been abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/opposition-n-in-politics-the-party-that-prevents-the-government-from-3/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The media has zero integrity, zero intelligence, and no hard work. You're the opposition party. Not the Democratic Party. You're the opposition party. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bannon/the-media-has-zero-integrity-zero-intelligence-and-no-hard-work-you/) [Steve Bannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bannon/) > [OPPOSITION, n. In politics the party that prevents the Government from running amuck by hamstringing it. The King of Ghargaroo, who had been abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/opposition-n-in-politics-the-party-that-prevents-the-government-from/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“And a further reason for caution, in this respect, might be drawn from the reflection that we are not always sure that those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/and-a-further-reason-for-caution-in-this-respect-might-be-drawn-from/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Think of the Republican Party as the opposition to the Democrats. It doesn't exist in California!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/think-of-the-republican-party-as-the-opposition-to-the-democrats-it/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [A spectre is haunting Europe-the spectre of Communism. All the Powers of old Europe have entered into holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Pope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/a-spectre-is-haunting-europe-the-spectre-of-communism-all-the-powers/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I think the Democratic Party has to learn how to be a party of opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brock/i-think-the-democratic-party-has-to-learn-how-to-be-a-party-of/) [David Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brock/) > [“Raising one hand, he tilts his hat to that sexy slant. "You want me. Admit it." Even if he's partly right, I'll never tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-howard/raising-one-hand-he-tilts-his-hat-to-that-sexy-slant-you-want-me/) [A.G. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-howard/) > [The irresistible force meets the immovable object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorilla-monsoon/the-irresistible-force-meets-the-immovable-object/) [Gorilla Monsoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gorilla-monsoon/) > [Boys are irresistible but are they really worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/boys-are-irresistible-but-are-they-really-worth-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/enthusiasm-is-the-yeast-that-makes-your-hopes-shine-to-the-stars/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) ## More by Charles Krauthammer > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. No nation since Cyrus the Great’s Persia has done more for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/america-is-the-most-welcoming-religiously-tolerant-philo-semitic/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I believe in what I believe, and I think after all these years I've heard a lot of arguments, and I'm convinced by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-believe-in-what-i-believe-and-i-think-after-all-these-years-i-ve/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) [Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job. But when it comes to power, it must govern. Easy rhetoric is over, the press of reality becomes irresistible. By necessity, it adopts some of the policies it had once denounced. And a new national consensus is born.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Krauthammer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes-that-s-its-job-but-when-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Born" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes-that-s-its-job-but-when-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b5/charles-krauthammer-1232_born_when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes_1043991.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a party is in opposition, it opposes. That's its job. But when it comes to power, it must govern. Easy…” — Charles Krauthammer", "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": "Charles Krauthammer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When a party is in opposition,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes-that-s-its-job-but-when-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/when-a-party-is-in-opposition-it-opposes-that-s-its-job-but-when-it/#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 } } ] } ```