--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contemporary politics is all about phony…" description: "\"Contemporary politics is all about phony energy, about running around slamming doors for the sake of it-or, more to the point, opening them and tossing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/mark-steyn-1844_contemporary_contemporary-politics-is-all-about-phony_1855371.jpg" --- # Contemporary politics is all about phony energy, about… ![“Contemporary politics is all about phony energy, about running around slamming doors for the sake of it-or, more to the point, opening them and tossing through a huge sack of taxpayer dollars.” quote by Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/mark-steyn-1844_contemporary_contemporary-politics-is-all-about-phony_1855371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/mark-steyn-1844_contemporary_contemporary-politics-is-all-about-phony_1855371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/mark-steyn-1844_contemporary_contemporary-politics-is-all-about-phony_1855371.jpg) > “Contemporary politics is all about phony energy, about running around slamming doors for the sake of it-or, more to the point, opening them and tossing through a huge sack of taxpayer dollars.” [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political discourse often masquerades as action while wasting public funds on symbolic gestures. **In simple terms:** Politics can waste money on showy actions. Key Takeaway Focus on genuine solutions, not theatrics. Themes politics public spending symbolic actions Mood cynical critical Type political commentary satire When to use this quote - budget debates - policy making - public accountability Key Concepts government accountability public trust Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens demand real accountability? - What alternatives to performative politics exist? A Different Perspective Symbolic gestures may distract from substantive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary/) [Contemporary Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-politics-2462229/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening/) [Phony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phony/) [Phony Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phony-energy-2462228/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Phony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-phony-2462227/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Slamming doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slamming-doors/) [Taxpayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxpayers/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think that modesty is the outstanding characteristic of contemporary politics, do you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-heath/i-don-t-think-that-modesty-is-the-outstanding-characteristic-of/) [Edward Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-heath/) > [What stuns me most about contemporary politics is not even that the system has been so badly corrupted by money. It is that so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/what-stuns-me-most-about-contemporary-politics-is-not-even-that-the/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I am committed to the idea of information politics. That is how contemporary politics are played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-jeremijenko/i-am-committed-to-the-idea-of-information-politics-that-is-how/) [Natalie Jeremijenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-jeremijenko/) > [I'm just sick of the way things are. We're in an age in which we can't live without accepting the logic of the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/i-m-just-sick-of-the-way-things-are-we-re-in-an-age-in-which-we-can-t/) [Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/) > [“After that he would leave for a while, breaking things as he went, slamming doors to kick them open, picking up decanters to hurl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/after-that-he-would-leave-for-a-while-breaking-things-as-he-went/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Bottom line: Outbursts of anger - including screaming, throwing things, banging inanimate objects, slamming doors, squealing tires, stomping around, making threats, shoving, restraining, cornering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-the-apostle/bottom-line-outbursts-of-anger-including-screaming-throwing-things/) [Paul the Apostle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-the-apostle/) > [Just the other day, it seems, the kids were running through the house, slamming doors, breaking glass, making noise. Time goes by so quickly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-como/just-the-other-day-it-seems-the-kids-were-running-through-the-house/) [Perry Como](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-como/) > [Being bipolar and an addict and an alcoholic I have to keep myself very busy. I don't sleep. I am lucky if I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-feherty/being-bipolar-and-an-addict-and-an-alcoholic-i-have-to-keep-myself/) [David Feherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-feherty/) > [Fantasy is escapism, but wait... Why is this wrong? What are you escaping from, and where are you escaping to? Is the story opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/fantasy-is-escapism-but-wait-why-is-this-wrong-what-are-you-escaping/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Cages come in lots of different colors and shapes. Some are gilded, while others have a slamming door. But golden handcuffs are still handcuffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/cages-come-in-lots-of-different-colors-and-shapes-some-are-gilded/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [“How was I supposed to know that slamming doors was saying goodbye you did it all the time and he still let you home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha-christensen/how-was-i-supposed-to-know-that-slamming-doors-was-saying-goodbye-you/) [Alisha Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha-christensen/) > [“... the cupboards start opening and closing by themselves, drawers slamming shut and the walls start to bleed. Slamming doors and smashing plates. Anna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/the-cupboards-start-opening-and-closing-by-themselves-drawers/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [I come from an Italian family. One of the greatest and most profound expressions we would ever use in conversations or arguments was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-come-from-an-italian-family-one-of-the-greatest-and-most-profound/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [Maybe your life resembles a Bethlehem stable. Crude in some spots, smelly in others. Not much glamour. Not always neat. People in your circle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/maybe-your-life-resembles-a-bethlehem-stable-crude-in-some-spots/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Crushing hoes, slamming doors while the chassis shake. From the sub, work the juice, bitch I want the bass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-krit/crushing-hoes-slamming-doors-while-the-chassis-shake-from-the-sub/) [Big Krit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-krit/) ## More by Mark Steyn > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“The populations of wealthy democratic societies expect to have total choice over their satellite TV packages, yet think it perfectly normal to allow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-populations-of-wealthy-democratic-societies-expect-to-have-total/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [For Al Gore and Paul Ehrlich and Co., whatever the problem, the solution is always the same. 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His eyes were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-witter/no-i-pulled-away-just-enough-to-lock-my-eyes-with-his-his-crooked/) [Stephanie Witter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-witter/) > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [The boundaries between contemporary art and cinema are so rigid. It's unbelievable. The film critics don't know my artwork and the art world doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/the-boundaries-between-contemporary-art-and-cinema-are-so-rigid-it-s/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [I'm educating myself more about world poetry. 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