---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To a certain extent, platforms are…"
description: "\"To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you test when you get to govern. You have to run those priorities up against the opposition and deci..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png"
---

#  To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you…

![“To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you test when you get to govern. You have to run those priorities up against the opposition and decide what's most important.” quote by Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png)

> “To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you test when you get to govern. You have to run those priorities up against the opposition and decide what's most important.”

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Policy decisions must be tested against opposing views to prioritize effectively.

**In simple terms:** Test policies against opposition.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize after rigorous debate.

Themes

politics decision‑making governance

Mood

analytical serious

Type

political strategic

When to use this quote

- legislative sessions
- budget planning
- public consultations

Key Concepts

policy analysis strategic prioritization critical evaluation

Questions to Reflect On

- What criteria should guide priority setting?
- How can dissent be constructively integrated?

A Different Perspective

Opposition may be based on misinformation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Opposition Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition-decide-2037492/) [Platforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platforms/) [Platforms Platitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platforms-platitudes-2037489/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Priorities Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities-opposition-2037490/) [Test](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test/) [Test Govern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test-govern-2037491/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/)

## Related quotes

> [Women should unite upon a platform of opposition to the teaching and aim of that ever most unscrupulous enemy of freedom--the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/women-should-unite-upon-a-platform-of-opposition-to-the-teaching-and/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [This world is not a platform where you will hear Thalberg-piano-playing. It is a piano manufactory, where are dust and shavings and boards, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/this-world-is-not-a-platform-where-you-will-hear-thalberg-piano/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [“three platforms: Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Registering, iterating, and monetizing its audience is the heart of each platform’s business. It’s what the most valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-galloway/three-platforms-amazon-google-and-facebook-registering-iterating-and/)

[Scott Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-galloway/)

> [My company created a platform called Modlife, this prepackaged website that runs an artist's website.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/my-company-created-a-platform-called-modlife-this-prepackaged-website/)

[Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/)

> [English literature is a glorious inheritance which is open to all - there are no barriers, no coupons, and no restrictions. In the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/english-literature-is-a-glorious-inheritance-which-is-open-to-all/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/microsoft-is-the-productivity-and-platform-company-for-the-mobile/)

[Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/)

> [I don't expect anybody here to cheerlead for Donald Trump. I expect us to have platforms like this, where we can fairly and effectively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/i-don-t-expect-anybody-here-to-cheerlead-for-donald-trump-i-expect-us/)

[Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/)

> [Tachyon OPC+ is a natural extension of our market-winning Tachyon platform, giving customers a clear path to minimizing the OPC error budget and producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/tachyon-opc-is-a-natural-extension-of-our-market-winning-tachyon/)

[Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/)

> [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their/)

[Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/)

> [Everything for us is a system. We don't think about it discretely as just as a piece of hardware, or discretely as an application...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosain-rahman/everything-for-us-is-a-system-we-don-t-think-about-it-discretely-as/)

[Hosain Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosain-rahman/)

> [I reject the idea there are just two sides. I think that with the amount of ideas and thoughts there are, it's not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-reject-the-idea-there-are-just-two-sides-i-think-that-with-the/)

[Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/)

> [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/)

[Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/)

> [And then you came along and you spoke to me and nobody had looked me in the eye for years. (...) But I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/and-then-you-came-along-and-you-spoke-to-me-and-nobody-had-looked-me/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [We could have lost faith and just let this battle with cancer get the best of us, or I could give my daughter's battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-still/we-could-have-lost-faith-and-just-let-this-battle-with-cancer-get-the/)

[Devon Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-still/)

> [ I don't feel the need to brand myself in that way \[social media\]. But as a means to share information and raise awareness of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-johansson/i-don-t-feel-the-need-to-brand-myself-in-that-way-social-media-but-as/)

[Scarlett Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-johansson/)

## More by Sheldon Whitehouse

> [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Muzzling our leading scientists benefits no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/muzzling-our-leading-scientists-benefits-no-one/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Make your life your work, not your talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/make-your-life-your-work-not-your-talk/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Citizens United is a disgrace of a decision, holding that corporate money is corporate speech and entitled to the same First Amendment protection as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/citizens-united-is-a-disgrace-of-a-decision-holding-that-corporate/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [We must unequivocally reject any cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-must-unequivocally-reject-any-cuts-to-social-security-or-medicare/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Implementing the so-called 'Buffett Rule' would restore some badly needed fairness to our tax system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/implementing-the-so-called-buffett-rule-would-restore-some-badly/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [To be clear, I don't know whether the fossil fuel industry and its allies engaged in the same kind of racketeering activity as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-be-clear-i-don-t-know-whether-the-fossil-fuel-industry-and-its/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [The fossil fuel industry has taken control of, and powered up, architecture and methods originally built by the tobacco industry and others to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-taken-control-of-and-powered-up/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Getting past the influence of the fossil fuel industry will take courage, especially on the part of the Republican majority whom they so relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/getting-past-the-influence-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-will-take/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [We have seen the big loan servicers drag their feet in the Obama administration's well-intentioned mortgage modification program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-have-seen-the-big-loan-servicers-drag-their-feet-in-the-obama/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [We are here to do God's work. He's not here to do ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-are-here-to-do-god-s-work-he-s-not-here-to-do-ours/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [Talking to my Senate Republican colleagues about climate change is like talking to prisoners about escaping. The conversations are often private, even furtive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/talking-to-my-senate-republican-colleagues-about-climate-change-is/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [If everyone on the Court always voted for the prosecution against the defendant, for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/if-everyone-on-the-court-always-voted-for-the-prosecution-against-the/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [These core principles - helping patients, preventing medical errors, promoting best practices and improving quality - are the reasons that health IT is featured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/these-core-principles-helping-patients-preventing-medical-errors/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

> [The Heartland Institute is about as biased as they come, and it's funded by the likes of Exxon and the Koch brothers. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-heartland-institute-is-about-as-biased-as-they-come-and-it-s/)

[Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

[Explore all 138 Sheldon Whitehouse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/)

## More Important quotes

> [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [Fiscal prudence is very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/fiscal-prudence-is-very-important/)

[Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/)

> [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/)

[Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/)

> [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/)

[Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/)

> [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/)

[Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/)

> [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [If I had learned how to get along in the quotidian world while keeping up the search for the hidden realm, I might have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/if-i-had-learned-how-to-get-along-in-the-quotidian-world-while/)

[Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/)

> [Modeling is more important than the talking we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-williams/modeling-is-more-important-than-the-talking-we-do/)

[Wayne Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-williams/)

> [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/)

[Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/)

> [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/)

[Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/)

> [To me, Caribbean food is about fresh, seasonal produce - using what's in season to create vibrant and great tasting food. The spicing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/to-me-caribbean-food-is-about-fresh-seasonal-produce-using-what-s-in/)

[Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/)

> [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/)

[Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/)

> [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/)

[Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/)

[Browse all 30,993 Important quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you test when you get to govern. You have to run those priorities up against the opposition and decide what's most important.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sheldon Whitehouse"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platitudes-that-you-test-when-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Important"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platitudes-that-you-test-when-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_important_to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platit_1801690.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To a certain extent, platforms are platitudes that you test when you get to govern. You have to run those…” — Sheldon Whitehouse",
                "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": "Sheldon Whitehouse",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To a certain extent, platforms are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platitudes-that-you-test-when-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-a-certain-extent-platforms-are-platitudes-that-you-test-when-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
