IdeaLog
Our goal is not to change beliefs, it is to change behavior:
Posted on November 11, 2015
In almost every jurisdiction, in order to win political battles, we must persuade at least some non-aligned or “swing” voters. We call them “persuadable voters.” These Americans aren’t like you and me. They don’t...
Did Arne Duncan Just Surrender on Standardized Testing?
Posted on October 26, 2015
Days ago, the U.S. Department of Education announced a dramatic policy shift on standardized testing of public school students. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, echoed by President Obama, admitted that a Council of the Great...
What Can We Do About Guns?
Posted on October 4, 2015
In response to the massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, President Obama said: This is a political choice that we make to allow this to happen every few months in America. We...
Pope Francis Suggests a Progressive Freedom of Religion
Posted on September 27, 2015
Last Saturday, Pope Francis delivered a homily at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Billed as an address on religious freedom, conservatives hoped and expected the Pope to praise their hard-line opposition to abortion, contraception and...
What, if anything, is causing violent crime to increase?
Posted on September 16, 2015
Recently, the New York Times published a front page story headlined “Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities.” Much of the media have run similar reports, including USA Today, Reuters and Time. First...
Common Core “results” aren’t actually test scores
Posted on September 1, 2015
A few states have now released results from the Common Core standardized tests administered to students last spring. The Associated Press recently published a story about it, and over the next couple of months...
Time to kill the death penalty
Posted on August 19, 2015
In February 2015, Pennsylvania issued a moratorium on executions. In May, Nebraska became the 19th state, and the seventh state since 2007, to abolish the death penalty. And weeks ago, the Connecticut Supreme Court...
Why is the generic conservative philosophy so popular?
Posted on August 5, 2015
First, let’s be clear: Americans like the concept of “conservative.” Nearly 40 percent of Americans—including nearly 20 percent of Democrats—identify themselves as conservative. And 62 percent of Americans—including 47 percent of Democrats—have a positive...
Worst state and local defeats so far this year
Posted on July 20, 2015
Our last blog listed some really great progressive victories in the states and localities so far this year. Now it’s time to face some grim music. The fact is, state legislatures were more conservative...
Six key progressive victories in the states and localities
Posted on July 6, 2015
With the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives controlled by the right wing, it’s no wonder that this Congress has been among the least productive in our nation’s history. But while Congress treads water,...