"If you want to make a difference, you have to show up"
About this Quote
The subtext is disciplinary. "You" is both invitation and gentle rebuke: if outcomes disappoint you, examine your participation before you indict the system. It also smuggles in a defense of institutions. Klobuchar is not romanticizing disruption; she is elevating the procedural grind - the meeting, the vote, the canvass, the committee hearing. "Show up" can mean literal visibility (be in the room) and civic reliability (be counted). Either way, it privileges persistence over purity.
Context matters: as a long-serving U.S. senator and frequent messenger of bipartisan competence, Klobuchar's brand is durability. This isn't a revolutionary slogan; it's a retention strategy for a fatigued electorate and a reminder that power accrues to the people who keep returning. The line flatters no one, which is why it lands. It asks for the one resource that can't be retweeted: time.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Book: The Senator Next Door: A Memoir from the Heartland (2015) |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Klobuchar, Amy. (2026, January 30). If you want to make a difference, you have to show up. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-make-a-difference-you-have-to-show-184780/
Chicago Style
Klobuchar, Amy. "If you want to make a difference, you have to show up." FixQuotes. January 30, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-make-a-difference-you-have-to-show-184780/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If you want to make a difference, you have to show up." FixQuotes, 30 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-make-a-difference-you-have-to-show-184780/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







