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Daily Inspiration Quote by George Will

"Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues"

About this Quote

Democracy, in George Will's telling, is less a town hall than a hiring committee. "Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues" strips away the civics-class romance that elections are giant referendums on policy. Will's intent is bracingly procedural: the real act of popular sovereignty is delegation. You are not legislating; you are selecting the people, networks, and institutions that will legislate on your behalf.

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

TopicDecision-Making
SourceHelp us find the source
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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.

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About the Author

George Will

George Will (born May 4, 1941) is a Journalist from USA.

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