--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself…" description: "\"“liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself professionally by developing a specialized capacity for attacking, say, Romneys or Bushes. Either there wasn’t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/joshua-green-3819_quote_liberal-simply-couldn-t-sustain-himself_2153812.jpg" --- # liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself professionally by… ![“liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself professionally by developing a specialized capacity for attacking, say, Romneys or Bushes. Either there wasn’t sufficient continuity across election cycles or, as in the case of the dynastic Bushes, they didn’t inspire the kind of visceral loathing among the…” quote by Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/joshua-green-3819_quote_liberal-simply-couldn-t-sustain-himself_2153812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/joshua-green-3819_quote_liberal-simply-couldn-t-sustain-himself_2153812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/joshua-green-3819_quote_liberal-simply-couldn-t-sustain-himself_2153812.jpg) > ““liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself professionally by developing a specialized capacity for attacking, say, Romneys or Bushes. Either there wasn’t sufficient continuity across election cycles or, as in the case of the dynastic Bushes, they didn’t inspire the kind of visceral loathing among the opposition that is necessary to maintain a permanent counter-operation. The Clintons, on the other hand, registered to most conservatives as the primary and ever-present enemy. Through Bossie, Trump forged a”” [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that liberal political strategy struggles without a consistent, emotionally charged opponent, limiting sustained opposition efforts. **In simple terms:** Liberals need a strong, consistent enemy to stay effective. Key Takeaway Identify enduring issues rather than fleeting targets. Themes politics strategy opposition media public opinion Mood critical analytical Type commentary political analysis When to use this quote - election campaigns - media analysis - policy debates - grassroots organizing Key Concepts polarization enemy framing campaign cycles Questions to Reflect On - How can liberals maintain momentum without a singular enemy? - What alternative strategies sustain political engagement? A Different Perspective Overreliance on a single adversary can weaken long‑term political resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) ## Related quotes > [No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/no-president-should-fear-public-scrutiny-of-his-program-for-from-that-2/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/no-president-should-fear-public-scrutiny-of-his-program-for-from-that/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The argument culture urges us to approach the world-and the people in it-in an adversarial frame of mind. It rests on the assumption that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/the-argument-culture-urges-us-to-approach-the-world-and-the-people-in/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Hillary Clinton is more in the center of things than I am, but she also knows how to work with the opposition, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/hillary-clinton-is-more-in-the-center-of-things-than-i-am-but-she/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [An opposition is necessary and desirable for the healthy development of any country. You can scarcely find anyone in opposition, except for the communists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/an-opposition-is-necessary-and-desirable-for-the-healthy-development/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [I do think a healthy opposition is very necessary in a democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-patnaik/i-do-think-a-healthy-opposition-is-very-necessary-in-a-democracy/) [Naveen Patnaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-patnaik/) > [A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/a-liberal-is-only-a-bundle-of-prejudices-until-he-has-mastered-has/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [If Rob Ford decided he wanted to run for the Liberal Party in 2015, we'd say, 'No, sorry, the way you approach things, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/if-rob-ford-decided-he-wanted-to-run-for-the-liberal-party-in-2015-we/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [Trump is more conservative on individual rights, domestic issues, economic issues and defense. On the other hand, Clinton is quite liberal and wishes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabrizio-moreira/trump-is-more-conservative-on-individual-rights-domestic-issues/) [Fabrizio Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabrizio-moreira/) > [Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/wherever-there-is-a-jackboot-stomping-on-a-human-face-there-will-be-a/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [It's almost comical how un-liberal liberal Hollywood is when it comes to fighting gender and racial bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexi-alexander/it-s-almost-comical-how-un-liberal-liberal-hollywood-is-when-it-comes/) [Lexi Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexi-alexander/) > [I want to reclaim 'liberal.' I'm a liberal, and I think most Americans are liberals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-want-to-reclaim-liberal-i-m-a-liberal-and-i-think-most-americans/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [I'm a liberal, but I'm not biased. Seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-m-a-liberal-but-i-m-not-biased-seriously/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [I would say I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, if that contradiction can make sense, because in Bolivia, we have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-would-say-i-m-a-fiscal-conservative-and-a-social-liberal-if-that/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [I became an MP in 2017 and have been around to watch Liberal Democrat party membership soar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/i-became-an-mp-in-2017-and-have-been-around-to-watch-liberal-democrat/) [Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/) ## More by Joshua Green > [“This popularity extended to Trump himself, who, according to private demographic research conducted at the time, was even more popular with African American and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/this-popularity-extended-to-trump-himself-who-according-to-private/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“It fed his grandiose sense of purpose to imagine that he was amassing an army of ragged, pitchfork-wielding outsiders to storm the barricades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/it-fed-his-grandiose-sense-of-purpose-to-imagine-that-he-was-amassing/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“few days earlier, Trump’s team of data scientists, squirreled away in an office down in San Antonio, had delivered a report titled “Predictions: Five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/few-days-earlier-trump-s-team-of-data-scientists-squirreled-away-in/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“What he wanted the media to cover, constantly and at length, was only one thing: Donald Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/what-he-wanted-the-media-to-cover-constantly-and-at-length-was-only/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“an unlikely pair of guests: Nigel Farage, the leader of the right-wing UK Independence Party, and Phil Robertson, the bandanna’d, ayatollah-bearded Duck Dynasty patriarch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/an-unlikely-pair-of-guests-nigel-farage-the-leader-of-the-right-wing/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“suggested to him that it was working. He was sure that Sanders’s rise was destined to end in crashing disappointment. Having thrilled to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/suggested-to-him-that-it-was-working-he-was-sure-that-sanders-s-rise/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“He and Kushner had hit upon the plan after seeing Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and an outspoken Clinton partisan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/he-and-kushner-had-hit-upon-the-plan-after-seeing-mark-cuban-the/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“He loved the guy.” It was clear the connection was genuine, said Roger Stone, “because Steve is a slob, and Trump hates slobs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/he-loved-the-guy-it-was-clear-the-connection-was-genuine-said-roger/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“Bannon’s a political entrepreneur and a remarkable bloke,” Farage said. “Without the supportive voice of Breitbart London, I’m not sure we would have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/bannon-s-a-political-entrepreneur-and-a-remarkable-bloke-farage-said/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“Wherever he could, he aligned himself with politicians and causes committed to tearing down its globalist edifice: archconservative Catholics such as Burke, Nigel Farage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/wherever-he-could-he-aligned-himself-with-politicians-and-causes/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“For all his paranoid alarm, Bannon believes that the rise of nationalist movements across the world, from Europe to Japan to the United States,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/for-all-his-paranoid-alarm-bannon-believes-that-the-rise-of/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“At its essence, the alt-right is a rolling tumbleweed of wounded male id and aggression.\*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/at-its-essence-the-alt-right-is-a-rolling-tumbleweed-of-wounded-male/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“We have to make America strong again and make America great again,” Trump told the CPAC crowd. “Because when it comes to immigration, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/we-have-to-make-america-strong-again-and-make-america-great-again/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“He went on to make a series of preposterous-sounding claims—almost all of which would be borne out in the end: he would win a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/he-went-on-to-make-a-series-of-preposterous-sounding-claims-almost/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“In 1998, when Clinton first posited a “vast right-wing conspiracy” bent on ruining her and her husband, she was widely ridiculed. But she wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/in-1998-when-clinton-first-posited-a-vast-right-wing-conspiracy-bent/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) [Explore all 121 Joshua Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) ## More Liberal quotes > [I became an MP in 2017 and have been around to watch Liberal Democrat party membership soar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/i-became-an-mp-in-2017-and-have-been-around-to-watch-liberal-democrat/) [Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/) > [I would say I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, if that contradiction can make sense, because in Bolivia, we have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-would-say-i-m-a-fiscal-conservative-and-a-social-liberal-if-that/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [I'm a liberal, but I'm not biased. Seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-m-a-liberal-but-i-m-not-biased-seriously/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [I want to reclaim 'liberal.' I'm a liberal, and I think most Americans are liberals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-want-to-reclaim-liberal-i-m-a-liberal-and-i-think-most-americans/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [It's almost comical how un-liberal liberal Hollywood is when it comes to fighting gender and racial bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lexi-alexander/it-s-almost-comical-how-un-liberal-liberal-hollywood-is-when-it-comes/) [Lexi Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lexi-alexander/) > [Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/wherever-there-is-a-jackboot-stomping-on-a-human-face-there-will-be-a/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Trump is more conservative on individual rights, domestic issues, economic issues and defense. On the other hand, Clinton is quite liberal and wishes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabrizio-moreira/trump-is-more-conservative-on-individual-rights-domestic-issues/) [Fabrizio Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabrizio-moreira/) > [If Rob Ford decided he wanted to run for the Liberal Party in 2015, we'd say, 'No, sorry, the way you approach things, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/if-rob-ford-decided-he-wanted-to-run-for-the-liberal-party-in-2015-we/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/a-liberal-is-only-a-bundle-of-prejudices-until-he-has-mastered-has/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [We whites who position ourselves as liberal often opt to protect what we perceive as our moral reputationsrather than recognize or change our participation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-diangelo/we-whites-who-position-ourselves-as-liberal-often-opt-to-protect-what/) [Robin DiAngelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-diangelo/) > [I guess blustery liberal Republicans flock together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-cuccinelli/i-guess-blustery-liberal-republicans-flock-together/) [Ken Cuccinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-cuccinelli/) > [I'm impressed by Jo Swinson. I think if I was living in a lot of constituencies I would lend my vote to the Liberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gauke/i-m-impressed-by-jo-swinson-i-think-if-i-was-living-in-a-lot-of/) [David Gauke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gauke/) > [I always thought of myself as a moderate liberal, a fighter for peace and justice. I never thought of myself as being all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-moderate-liberal-a-fighter-for-peace/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [In reviewing films, people get quite liberal about saying "the script" this and "the script" that, when they've never read the script any more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/in-reviewing-films-people-get-quite-liberal-about-saying-the-script/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [A liberal is a man who is willing to spend somebody else's money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-glass/a-liberal-is-a-man-who-is-willing-to-spend-somebody-else-s-money/) Carter Glass [Browse all 1,357 Liberal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“liberal simply couldn’t sustain himself professionally by developing a specialized capacity for attacking, say, Romneys or Bushes. Either there wasn’t sufficient continuity across election cycles or, as in the case of the dynastic Bushes, they didn’t inspire the kind of visceral loathing among the opposition that is necessary to maintain a permanent counter-operation. The Clintons, on the other hand, registered to most conservatives as the primary and ever-present enemy. 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