This December marks the end of my 30th year working in politics. That has led to some reflection, some of which I share here and on Medium. Thirty years ago, Andy Gordon, the incoming chief of staff to incoming US Representative Sam Coppersmith, hired me to be Sam’s director of constituent services. After figuring out…
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Guns: what now, what next, then what?
Gun laws are public policy. Gun policy won’t change until policymakers change. Advocates need to change policymakers. In the face of events that force themselves onto the national agenda (like leaked Supreme Court rulings, racist attacks and mass shootings) activists should ask: what now, what next, and then what? Answering these questions help respond to…
Remarks to the School of Media and Public Affairs Class of 2022
On May 14th I addressed the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs graduating students and their families. You can read the full speech on Medium. Democracy is not a given. Our democratic experiment only continues if we continue it. Truffle hunters didn’t stumble across a box of democracy in the woods. We…
Political Communication Ethics Final Exam
Below is the take-home final exam for SMPA 3348, Political Communication Ethics. Those new to the class might find this case study and “Goalposts and Guardrails: A Mixed Metaphor Guide to Ethics in Advocacy” by Elisa Massimino in Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice helpful as you tackle the question. Framing is a powerful persuasive…
A Note to My Students at the Start of the Spring 2022 Semester: Have Fun
“Aristoteles” (1811) by Francesco Hayez (1791–1882) According to Aristotle the young, “are fond of laughter, and therefore witty; for wit is cultured insolence.” He goes on: “In their actions, [the young] prefer the noble to the useful; their life is guided by their character rather than by calculation, for the latter aims at the useful,…
A note to my students after the Fall 2021 semester – Telling the story of this stressful moment.
“To retain social hope, members of such a [modern, literate, secular] society need to be able to tell themselves a story about how things might get better, and to see no insuperable obstacles to this story’s coming true.” Richard Rorty, Contingency, irony, and solidarity Human beings seek reason and order. We want to stand on…
A note about community to students before the Fall 2021 semester
This is going to be a weird semester. We are back on campus, more or less, with mandates for masks and screenings and shots. We’re meeting people for the first time whom we’ve known on Zoom for a year. Some of you (and some of your professors) are at GW for the first time, even…
A Note to My Students After the Spring 2021 Semester
“Never be daunted. Secret of my success. Never been daunted. Never been daunted in public.” Bill to Jake in The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway I’m writing this sitting in the same chair in which I’ve been sitting for a year. You may be reading this in the same chair in which you’ve been sitting…
Political turmoil returns to Middle Falls.
Over the years, the town of Middle Falls has faced debates about bike sharing, a trolly, converting a church into a hotel, and more. Through it all the town has remained the same. After several years of relative calm, political turmoil returns to Middle Falls. Modern Political Communication and RhetoricSpring 2021Final Exam After four years…
A note to my students before the spring 2021 semester
This is going to be an odd semester. Once again we will be online – together apart for a few hours a week. Even those of you living in the dorms will only sort of be “at” GW while we are all sitting at kitchen tables, on sofas, or in childhood bedrooms you thought you’d…