Courtney! raised a crucial point in her comment on the last piece: Will this prove emotionally satisfying to those who have spent years imagining and planning their perfect wedding (rather than a perfect ‘civil union’)? I think yes, and here’s why: When I got married (in California), my wife and I went to the county registrar…
My Proposals
A Moderate Path on Same-Sex Marriage
One of the challenges of moderate politics is to find creative solutions that will appeal to (or at least resolve the concerns of) those on either end of the political spectrum. This is particularly true for those seemingly binary issues that so easily divide us. Here is what I think we should do about one…
A Speech for Obama
Recently, David Brooks called on Obama to take up the mantle of reformer, leading a charge to make government “simple, elegant and user-friendly.” Though his column was directed at liberals, Brooks suggested a program designed to appeal across ideological lines. Since my purpose here is to articulate a moderate politics dedicated to a better practice…
Structuring Better Outcomes
Once I was part of an organization that was trying to design a group t-shirt. Our discussion was a mess. There were simply too many of us with too many ideas to reach a consensus. The more we talked and voted, the more frustrated people grew. Eventually someone realized that in addition to the split…
What If Government Can’t Fix This Economy?
David Brooks has suggested as much in two columns this month. It used to be an article of faith among conservatives that the economy was self correcting and the government should simply stay out of the way. While moderates usually favor some federal government intervention in preserving rights and enforcing regulations, they have often been…