--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unlike the Contract with America, which…" description: "\"Unlike the Contract with America, which was created by Washington pollsters and insiders, Families First was developed from the grassroots up. Congress..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/dick-gephardt-11719_across_unlike-the-contract-with-america-which-w_2764501.jpg" --- # Unlike the Contract with America, which was created by… ![“Unlike the Contract with America, which was created by Washington pollsters and insiders, Families First was developed from the grassroots up. Congressional Democrats from across the country spent months meeting with people back home, asking them what issues were important to them, and what…” quote by Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/dick-gephardt-11719_across_unlike-the-contract-with-america-which-w_2764501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/dick-gephardt-11719_across_unlike-the-contract-with-america-which-w_2764501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/dick-gephardt-11719_across_unlike-the-contract-with-america-which-w_2764501.jpg) > “Unlike the Contract with America, which was created by Washington pollsters and insiders, Families First was developed from the grassroots up. Congressional Democrats from across the country spent months meeting with people back home, asking them what issues were important to them, and what Congress could do to make their lives a little easier.” [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grassroots input shaped policy, contrasting top‑down approaches. **In simple terms:** Policy built from people’s needs. Key Takeaway Engage communities in decision‑making. Themes politics grassroots policy participation Mood reflective inspirational Type political educational When to use this quote - town halls - campaign strategy - legislative drafting Key Concepts bottom‑up democracy public engagement Questions to Reflect On - Who is left out of the conversation? - How to ensure diverse voices? A Different Perspective Risk of limited representation if not inclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Congress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congress/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Democrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrats/) [Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Grassroots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grassroots/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington/) ## Related quotes > [President Obama and the congressional Democrats have certainly been responsive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/president-obama-and-the-congressional-democrats-have-certainly-been/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [“Congressional Democrats want the current president to use the enormous raw power vested in his office by Article II to achieve statist transformation. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/congressional-democrats-want-the-current-president-to-use-the/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [It's politically impossible for any member of Congress to make a public statement condemning or criticizing the policies of Israel. 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Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-simpson/) > [And I want to work with this Congress, to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/and-i-want-to-work-with-this-congress-to-make-sure-americans-already/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Once it becomes impossible for members of Congress to make a career of legislative service, the temptation to bend a vote for whatever reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-buckley/once-it-becomes-impossible-for-members-of-congress-to-make-a-career/) [James L. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-buckley/) > [I am going to work with people who hold similar views to me inside Congress, outside of Congress to make certain that we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-am-going-to-work-with-people-who-hold-similar-views-to-me-inside/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I have worked very, very hard over the course of my time in Congress to make sure that everybody does get access to quality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-kennedy-iii/i-have-worked-very-very-hard-over-the-course-of-my-time-in-congress/) [Joe Kennedy III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-kennedy-iii/) > [Women oftentimes are the ones making those economic decisions, sitting around the kitchen table and trying to figure out how to pay for rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/women-oftentimes-are-the-ones-making-those-economic-decisions-sitting/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [Policies from Congress should make life easier for American workers, families and businesses, not harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-kim/policies-from-congress-should-make-life-easier-for-american-workers/) [Young Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-kim/) > [I'm thinking, That's Barack Obama. He doesn't go to work. He doesn't go down to Congress and make a deal. What the hell's he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-m-thinking-that-s-barack-obama-he-doesn-t-go-to-work-he-doesn-t-go/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [The most important thing that Congress can do is make sure that our government is working for the people; by avoiding a shutdown we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/the-most-important-thing-that-congress-can-do-is-make-sure-that-our/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [Congress would make it mandatory, absolutely require, that, every five years, people in Medicare have a required counseling session that will tell them how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-mccaughey/congress-would-make-it-mandatory-absolutely-require-that-every-five/) Betsy McCaughey > [It is inexcusable for the White House and Congress to not even make the effort to find at least some offsets to this new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/it-is-inexcusable-for-the-white-house-and-congress-to-not-even-make/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) ## More by Dick Gephardt > [One of the big mistakes Republicans made with the Contract with America is that they tried to do too much too fast, and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/one-of-the-big-mistakes-republicans-made-with-the-contract-with/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [If you want to run for president, you better be an athlete. It's 24/7. It never ends. You give up your personal life completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/if-you-want-to-run-for-president-you-better-be-an-athlete-it-s-24-7/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [I was raised in a working class family of Baptist faith, and I went to college on a church scholarship where early teachings were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/i-was-raised-in-a-working-class-family-of-baptist-faith-and-i-went-to/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [In 1988, as an unknown candidate, totally unknown, I won Iowa, came in second in New Hampshire, won South Dakota. I was ahead in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/in-1988-as-an-unknown-candidate-totally-unknown-i-won-iowa-came-in/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [I don't think you can be a good listener unless you're a good listener. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/america-is-a-great-country-we-are-so-wealthy-but-our-one-remaining/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [I think a lot of people think I was born in a blue suit, on the David Brinkley show. And that isn't me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/i-think-a-lot-of-people-think-i-was-born-in-a-blue-suit-on-the-david/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [I think it's time we had a president who carried the same life experiences into the White House as most ordinary Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gephardt/i-think-it-s-time-we-had-a-president-who-carried-the-same-life/) [Dick Gephardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gephardt/) > [Our democracy if self-cleansing. 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I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [Realizing that they can't get their agenda across: against religious liberty, against a culture of life, they can't get those issues across through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/realizing-that-they-can-t-get-their-agenda-across-against-religious/) [Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/) > [I think if you look all across the country, the so-called Blue Dogs are all gone to kennel. 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Let's get to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/it-s-time-for-all-of-us-to-unite-across-the-state-of-washington-to/) [Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/) Browse all 722 Across quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unlike the Contract with America, which was created by Washington pollsters and insiders, Families First was developed from the grassroots up. 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