Obvious in Hindsight Quotes

“Ten Rules that Demystify Politics (1) Every policy output is the result of a political input. (2) Every politician values staying in office far more than anything else. (3) Politicians are extremely rational and smart when it comes to determining what’s in their best political interest. (4) Expecting politicians to “do the right thing” and defy human nature never works. (5) Politicians will do what you want in one of two cases: (a) they think you can help them win their next election; or (b) they think you can cost them their next election. Otherwise, you don’t matter at all. (6) Because of gerrymandering, the only election that typically matters is the primary. And because primary turnout is usually 10–20 percent, a very small group of voters and special interests typically choose both our elected officials and the policies they pursue. (7) Politicians, because all they want to do is stay in office, will adapt to whatever policies the majority of their primary voters support, so if primary turnout expands considerably, then the politician instinctively shifts to the center to accommodate it. (8) If we want different outputs, if we want different policies, we have to change the inputs. The only thing that works is changing the political incentives. Everything else is just noise. (9) The key to any campaign is to understand whose support you really need and what will make them feel like you can impact their next primary. This applies to every state, every county, every city, every jurisdiction, every party, every ideology. (10) In other words, politics is far less complex than the people in the business—electeds, staffers, reporters, pundits, academics, think tanks—make it out to be. The more complex it sounds, the more impressive they seem. But it’s about inputs and outputs—and nothing else.”
― Bradley Tusk, Obvious in Hindsight

“First off, there are no friends in politics, just enemies you haven’t made yet. Everyone is replaceable.”
― Bradley Tusk, Obvious in Hindsight

“Every policy output is the result of a political input.”
― Bradley Tusk, Obvious in Hindsight

“We got screwed by corruption. The entrenched interests. Regulatory capture. Rent seeking.” Susan likes throwing out vaguely abstract terms that make her sound smart. Occam’s razor, the Pareto principle, the Fibonacci sequence, and Sturgeon’s law are her go-tos. She incorporated all four into her TEDx talk.”
― Bradley Tusk, Obvious in Hindsight

“When you need something done in government—at any level—you have to understand what motivates the people you need to persuade. The good news is they’re all solely focused on one thing and one thing only—reelection. Ninety-nine percent of politicians are desperately insecure, self-loathing people who can’t live without the validation of holding office. They will never prioritize solving any problem ahead of reelection.”
― Bradley Tusk, Obvious in Hindsight