"Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues"
About this Quote
The line works because it weaponizes a quiet truth most campaigns prefer to obscure. Candidates perform certainty on hot-button topics, but governing is an ongoing series of tradeoffs, compromises, committee markups, court constraints, bureaucratic implementation, and crisis-driven improvisation. By reframing elections as a choice of decision-makers rather than decisions, Will nudges voters to judge temperament, competence, coalition-building, and respect for process - the unglamorous traits that actually determine outcomes once the slogans fade.
The subtext is mildly scolding, and characteristically conservative in its skepticism of mass plebiscites and policy-by-passion. It's also a critique of the consumer model of politics, where voters demand issue-by-issue purchases and then feel betrayed when reality arrives with fine print. In context, Will is pointing at the machinery of representative government: party leadership, legislative agendas, judicial appointments, agency heads. The stakes are not just what leaders promise, but what they empower - and who gets to define "the issues" in the first place.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Will, George. (2026, January 17). Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/voters-dont-decide-issues-they-decide-who-will-66464/
Chicago Style
Will, George. "Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/voters-dont-decide-issues-they-decide-who-will-66464/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/voters-dont-decide-issues-they-decide-who-will-66464/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.



