Time and attention are the scarcest resources a policymaker has. The best advocates know that getting a piece of that time and attention, and getting that time and attention focused appropriately, makes their preferred solution likely if not inevitable. It is not the pitch for or against a bill alone that wins the day, but…
Author: Peter Loge
Democrats Should Preach That Old Time Civil Religion
Former White House senior advisor Ron Klain recently argued that Democrats should echo “Ronald Reagan’s invocation of the ‘shining city upon a hill’” and “claim…the concept of American exceptionalism — for their own.” I would take Klain’s argument a step further. Democrats should embrace the premise of American exceptionalism – civil religion – as a…
From Hero to Buffoon: Kenneth Burke, Evan Mecham, and Donald Trump
Words and deeds that were considered by many to be anti-Semitic, homophobic, racist, sexist, and pompous to a fault marked [Evan] Mecham’s brief career as governor of Arizona. In stark contrast, others deemed Mecham to be straightforward, honest, and gallant for being able to boldly proclaim their socially conservative doctrine…To many conservatives, Mecham was a hero…
I hope Senator Marco Rubio is pandering.
People whose opinions I respect and who know the Senator tell me he is a good, honorable, caring man. I also hope that’s true. But I mostly hope that he is a clever, calculating, ambitious politician with his eyes on the White House. He could of course be both; the best politicians know that good…
I took Speaker Ryan at his word – I was wrong
Eight weeks ago I wrote a piece for the Independent Journal Review arguing we should take Speaker Ryan at his word, and that if he violated his pledge we should call him out. He did, and I did.
Final Exam
Modern Political Communication and Rhetoric Spring 2016 Final Exam After four years at GW you launch into a successful career as a political strategist. The work is fun and financially rewarding. You help elect some good people, help advance some good policies, and generally carve out a good niche over a couple decades in D.C….
House Speaker Paul Ryan and America’s Civil Religion
My latest piece for the Independent Journal Review If our elected leaders are keepers of the faith of civil religion, and if politics is how we all express that faith, we have an obligation to both respect the position leaders hold and honor the politics through which we express our faith. Candidates and legislators…
Veepstakes 2016: Remind Voters of Differences
(Previously posted by Peter Loge on Medium.com) With the presidential nominating season lurching to a close (more or less-ish) pundit attention is turning to potential running mates. A dominant campaign theme this year is “they are screwing you,” with the “they” being a mix of bankers, political insiders, immigrants, minorities, foreign governments, and political hacks,…
“WE” Wins!
After the New Hampshire primary I wrote about a key difference between the victory speeches of Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders on one hand, and Secretary Hillary Clinton on the other. In their speeches Trump and Sanders used the word “we” a lot, while Clinton relied on the word ‘I’. Trump and Sanders, like their…
We The People vs. I The Candidate
Rhetorical scholars are among those least surprised by the success of Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Trump and Sanders are doing what teachers as far back as Aristotle said successful speakers do: Make the audience believe the speaker is one of them. Consider this passage from the Christian scholar Saint Augustine in the fourth century AD:…