--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our two-party system is a fraud, a sham…" description: "\"Our two-party system is a fraud, a sham, a delusion. On foreign policy, trade, immigration, Big Government, we have one-party government, one party pre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/pat-buchanan-2005_being-played_our-two-party-system-is-a-fraud-a-sham-a_3063465.jpg" --- # Our two-party system is a fraud, a sham, a delusion. On… ![“Our two-party system is a fraud, a sham, a delusion. On foreign policy, trade, immigration, Big Government, we have one-party government, one party press; and conservatives are being played for suckers.” quote by Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/pat-buchanan-2005_being-played_our-two-party-system-is-a-fraud-a-sham-a_3063465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/pat-buchanan-2005_being-played_our-two-party-system-is-a-fraud-a-sham-a_3063465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adf/pat-buchanan-2005_being-played_our-two-party-system-is-a-fraud-a-sham-a_3063465.jpg) > “Our two-party system is a fraud, a sham, a delusion. On foreign policy, trade, immigration, Big Government, we have one-party government, one party press; and conservatives are being played for suckers.” [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims the U.S. political system is a façade, with both parties serving elite interests and limiting genuine democratic choice. **In simple terms:** Political parties act as a sham, serving elites. Key Takeaway Support reforms that increase political competition and transparency. Themes democracy political reform elitism Mood critical urgent Type political analytical When to use this quote - election reform advocacy - independent media development - civic education programs Key Concepts media manipulation policy capture voter disenfranchisement Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to the two‑party system could work? - How can citizens hold parties accountable? A Different Perspective Changing entrenched power structures is complex and faces resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-government/) [Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives/) [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Foreign policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-policy/) [Fraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Libertarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarianism/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Two party system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-party-system/) ## Related quotes > [The Conservatives played like England cricketers - too many rash strokes and run-outs, dropped catches and bowling anywhere but the stumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-tebbit/the-conservatives-played-like-england-cricketers-too-many-rash/) [Norman Tebbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-tebbit/) > [Today, candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a snare and a delusion, a fraud upon the nation. Our two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/today-candor-compels-us-to-admit-that-our-vaunted-two-party-system-is/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [You can give to Americans for Prosperity or something else - a variety of different ways to push back against the party of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/you-can-give-to-americans-for-prosperity-or-something-else-a-variety/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [If there is to be responsible party government, the party label must be something more than a mere device for securing office. Unless those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/if-there-is-to-be-responsible-party-government-the-party-label-must/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [I was in Australia for many years. And the system there is a two-party system and the government changes from time to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lowy/i-was-in-australia-for-many-years-and-the-system-there-is-a-two-party/) [Frank Lowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lowy/) > [I think fully, that an independent candidate can't win in this country. The Constitution is structured for basically a two-party government, a two-party race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/i-think-fully-that-an-independent-candidate-can-t-win-in-this-country/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [Our challenge is to restore both trust in Labour as a party of government and trust in democracy as the best means of delivering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/our-challenge-is-to-restore-both-trust-in-labour-as-a-party-of/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [Both the country, and my party, are beset with division. We cannot bring the country back together unless the party of government is united,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cleverly/both-the-country-and-my-party-are-beset-with-division-we-cannot-bring/) [James Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cleverly/) > [Power without principle is barren, but principle without power is futile. This is a party of government, and I will lead it as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/power-without-principle-is-barren-but-principle-without-power-is/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [The prime minister's job is to captain his team, his party and his government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bercow/the-prime-minister-s-job-is-to-captain-his-team-his-party-and-his/) [John Bercow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bercow/) > [You cannot choose between party government and Parliamentary government. I say you can have no Parliamentary government if you have no party government; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/you-cannot-choose-between-party-government-and-parliamentary/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [John Prescott has made the government look greedy and ridiculous. Labour is seen as the corrupt party. The government has been fulfilling the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rees-mogg/john-prescott-has-made-the-government-look-greedy-and-ridiculous/) [William Rees-Mogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rees-mogg/) > [But I believe this: by and large, the United States ought to be able to choose for its President anybody that it wants, regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/but-i-believe-this-by-and-large-the-united-states-ought-to-be-able-to/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [I am leading this government but this is a three-party government and even the independents are with us. More importantly, the public is with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uddhav-thackeray/i-am-leading-this-government-but-this-is-a-three-party-government-and/) [Uddhav Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uddhav-thackeray/) > [I think the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of less government intrusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-crowley/i-think-the-republican-party-is-supposed-to-be-the-party-of-less/) [Monica Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-crowley/) ## More by Pat Buchanan > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [While our bipartisan establishment worships diversity, Trump saw Middle America recoiling from the demographic change brought about by Third World invasions. 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Stop exporting American factories, and stop exporting American sovereignty and independence to global institutions like the World Trade Organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/stop-exporting-american-jobs-stop-exporting-american-factories-and/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I think that in the minds of many, the press is being seen less and less as a neutral observer in the impeachment enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-think-that-in-the-minds-of-many-the-press-is-being-seen-less-and/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [By threatening war against Iran, Iraq and North Korea in his now-famous "Axis of Evil" address, the president painted himself into a corner. Either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/by-threatening-war-against-iran-iraq-and-north-korea-in-his-now/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [I opposed NAFTA in 1993 and '94.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/i-opposed-nafta-in-1993-and-94/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [That a district judge would overrule the president of the United States on a matter of border security in wartime is absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/that-a-district-judge-would-overrule-the-president-of-the-united/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [ \[The courts and the media elite\] are abolishing America, they are deconstructing our country ... they have dethroned our God. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/the-courts-and-the-media-elite-are-abolishing-america-they-are/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Anti-Catholicism is the anti-Semitism of the intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/anti-catholicism-is-the-anti-semitism-of-the-intellectual/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Russia and China, which have embraced autocratic capitalism, have attracted admirers and emulators by the seeming success of their strongman rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/russia-and-china-which-have-embraced-autocratic-capitalism-have/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) [Explore all 192 Pat Buchanan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) ## More Being played quotes > [Girls are not toys. 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I want love where there's actual flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-playing-games-i-want-love-where-there-s-actual-flames/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't play with a girls head if you're unsure of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi/don-t-play-with-a-girls-head-if-you-re-unsure-of-your-own/) [Jessi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi/) > [Hate to feel like my heart is being played with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hate-to-feel-like-my-heart-is-being-played-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [BOXER…GREAT.. BOXER…GREAT..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhatsprincess/boxer-great-boxer-great/) ZhatsPrincess > [My heart is like a welcome mat. He used it. He steeped on it. He walked all over it. 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