IdeaLog
Vote-by-mail is the answer
Posted on May 6, 2020
For many Americans, vote-by-mail will be a matter of life and death come November. There will be no widely available vaccine by then, and even if an anti-viral medicine is proven broadly effective this...
The essential message against Trump and conservatives
Posted on April 22, 2020
Trump and his conservative allies have trapped themselves in a course of action and a debate that have the potential to destroy them come November, if only progressives understand and engage. Over and over,...
Demand data about racial disparities in COVID-19 testing and treatment
Posted on April 8, 2020
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the great majority of state health departments have not been releasing information about the race and ethnicity of people who have tested positive or...
Throw Grandma from the Train
Posted on March 25, 2020
A few days ago, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick went on Fox News to deliver the message “Let’s get back to work. Let’s get back to living. Let’s be smart about it, and those...
In red states, cities and counties, prepare an amendment strategy
Posted on March 11, 2020
Many lawmakers and advocates work in states, cities and counties where there is no chance to enact progressive policy. The votes for equity and justice simply aren’t there. In that case, your efforts have...
What progressive legislators in Virginia are doing right
Posted on February 27, 2020
The Virginia General Assembly convened on January 8 and meets for only 60 days, but in a very short time the legislature has advanced an impressive agenda of progressive bills. By the “crossover” date,...
When and how should you argue on social media?
Posted on February 12, 2020
If you never have a social media “friend” who posts something false, then you don’t have to read this column. For the rest of us, what should you do when you see lies or...
How to rebut logical fallacies in the impeachment debate
Posted on January 30, 2020
Progressives have gotten so used to hearing bald-faced lies that perhaps we have become a little less ready to recognize which rhetorical tricks are being used against us. Let us consider five of the...
How did the American economy become a disgrace?
Posted on January 15, 2020
The question is not whether the economy is operating well, or even adequately, for the most Americans. The question is, what happened over the years to make it such an abysmal failure? By failure,...
All Politics Is Local—about the PLI Conference
Posted on January 1, 2020
Except from the book by Meaghan Winter (pages 181-182) I first saw Leslie Herod at work in the summer of 2017, when she appeared on a panel at a conference sponsored by the Public Leadership Institute—a...