Ten of our newest model bills

Posted on January 16, 2019

We’ve just published our latest edition of the Progressive Agenda for States and Localities. You can read it in HTML text, download a PDF, or we’ll be happy to mail you a printed copy. Here...

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Ten popular measures for 2019

Posted on January 2, 2019

Progressives should decide where they stand on issues based on values, not on polls. At the same time, it is smart politics to lift up our more popular issues. The most important thing is...

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How to argue over the Christmas or Kwanzaa table

Posted on December 18, 2018

Here are three more examples of how to argue the progressive position on issues based on the basic rules of persuasion described in our book, Voicing Our Values. Those rules are: (1) Begin in...

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How to argue over the Chanukah table

Posted on December 5, 2018

In the same spirit as our last blog, here are three more examples of how to argue progressive positions using the basic rules of persuasion described in our book, Voicing Our Values. Those rules...

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How to argue over the Thanksgiving table

Posted on November 20, 2018

Now that America is more politically polarized than ever, you may be dreading Thanksgiving. Your loud-mouthed right-wing Uncle Mort insists on debating politics and you expect he’ll be more confrontational than ever. There is...

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Cities can and must lead progressive policy

Posted on November 6, 2018

This is written from the National League of Cities annual Summit, this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center. If you’re in L.A., please come visit us in the Exhibition Hall, booth number 530....

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How to persuade with questions

Posted on October 24, 2018

Persuasion is hard. And yet, it’s the whole point of politics. If we argue, whine or rant but never persuade, we have accomplished nothing. People are tough to persuade because cognitive biases skew human...

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Drowning the American Dream, Part 2

Posted on October 9, 2018

Our last blog argued that America’s rich and powerful have rigged the economic system over the past 40 years. As a result, average citizens have gotten nowhere while the top five-to-ten percent have taken...

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Drowning the American Dream

Posted on September 26, 2018

Successful politics is a matter of persuading Americans that “we” are on their side. That can’t be done if “we” assert facts that contradict the realities of their daily lives. For most persuadable Americans,...

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The Importance of Non-Verbal Persuasion

Posted on September 11, 2018

How do you spend most of your time when preparing to give a speech? If you are like most advocates and policymakers we’ve worked with, your answer is content or the words. You might even think the...

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