IdeaLog
Brand-new edition of our advocacy manual, Preparing to Win
Posted on July 31, 2019
Here is the Introduction to our brand-new Second Edition of Preparing to Win: Why an advocacy manual now? We want change; that’s why we are progressive advocates. We seek to redirect and reform public...
Brand-new Fourth Edition of Voicing Our Values
Posted on July 17, 2019
This is the Introduction to our brand-new edition of Voicing Our Values: Politics is the art of persuasion. But persuasion is hard and getting harder. Today, facts are rationalized away and lies are ubiquitous....
Why we celebrate the Fourth of July
Posted on July 3, 2019
This year, Donald Trump is twisting the traditional nonpartisan “Capitol Fourth” celebration in Washington, D.C. into a grotesque partisan rally featuring himself and military weaponry. This is wrong on so many levels. The Fourth...
Avoid the passive voice
Posted on June 19, 2019
Richard Nixon and his press secretary were famously ridiculed for saying “mistakes were made.” And yet, the same phrase has been used by Democrats and Republicans ever since. To many people, the passive voice...
Don’t repeat the opponents’ frame
Posted on June 3, 2019
In his book Don’t Think of an Elephant, Professor George Lakoff provides the most basic principle of framing: “Do not use their language. Their language picks out a frame—and it won’t be the frame...
Please don’t reject messaging as “spin” or “manipulation”
Posted on May 22, 2019
As we go around the country giving messaging workshops, we’re nearly always asked whether our message framing is a gimmick. After all, conservatives make it seem like a cynical game. They refer to the...
Don’t accept the normalization of hate speech
Posted on May 8, 2019
America is not really a nation of laws. Our statutes govern only the grossest of behavior. The way Americans behave toward each other day-to-day—attitude and etiquette, willingness and wariness, prejudice and tolerance—is governed mostly...
How do you explain progressive economics?
Posted on April 24, 2019
As you know, conservatives have well-established concepts and language to explain their ideas about economics. And those talking points dominate any conversation with the public. The position themselves as defenders of a “free market” system...
Five Words the Media Should Stop Using
Posted on April 11, 2019
Language matters. When the media (or sometimes progressives) use language that indirectly supports the right-wing narrative, it obscures truth and impedes political persuasion. Here are five egregious but common uses of language by the...
What We Stand For: Twelve Words
Posted on March 27, 2019
Most Americans are progressive on most issues. By margins of at least two to one, our fellow citizens agree that the U.S. economy is rigged to benefit the rich and powerful; think wealthy individuals and corporations pay too little...