Our Thinking

Topic: Public Affairs/Public Policy Advocacy

“Help Me Help You……”
Posted 08/31/10

This poetic quote comes from the film, Jerry Maguire, where the professional football player (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) pleads with his agent (played by Tom Cruise) for support so he can do his job: deliver on the football field.  While elected officials don’t have agents, they do have constituents.

Read More +

Next Clickity...clack...
Posted 08/16/10

I’m proud to say my parents didn’t raise me to be a follower, which is perhaps why I haven’t felt it necessary to make the leap from my beloved Blackberry to a newer, “fancier” smartphone.  I take solace in the fact that according to CNN reports, there are millions who suffer from my addiction and haven’t made the plunge.

Read More +

Next Maine Voices: New media are changing campaigns
Posted 07/19/10

When I first began working on campaigns in 2000, the Internet was hardly a blip on the political radar screen. In 2004, as an advance man for John Kerry, I watched as insurgent primary candidate Howard Dean harnessed the technology to generate grassroots donations from around the country.

Read More +

Next Report from Fortune Brainstorm Green
Posted 04/19/10

Historically business leaders and environmental activists most often found themselves pointing fingers at one another and rarely meeting except perhaps in a court of law or a contentious Congressional hearing. But the third annual Fortune Brainstorm Green conference had the feel of a high school reunion where the star athletes and cheerleading captains (in this setting, major corporate CEOs and capitalistic entrepreneurs) are now happily walking the halls with the class nerds (the tree huggers and animal lovers.)

Read More +

Next A Silver Shotgun Blast
Posted 04/14/10

In the Mississippi Delta, people wonder when “green jobs” will lead them from a stagnant to vibrant economy, when wind turbines and solar panels will energize their farms and businesses, and when their crops will produce massive amounts of biofuels.

Read More +

Next Carbon Disclosure on the Rise
Posted 03/30/10

Read More +

Next Citizens United Case Opens Legislative Floodgate
Posted 03/26/10

Read More +

Next Satisfaction Guaranteed or No Money Back
Posted 02/22/10

Having watched Bill Clinton’s presidency from the vantage point of a Republican on Capitol Hill, I became used to a smart administration that could turn on a dime to reflect changing political realities.  If the direction the President was going didn’t work or he was roundly criticized for a decision, a different tack was adopted.  More often than not, it seemed that the President consistently got the upper hand on the loyal opposition and maintained high approval ratings for most of his eight years.  

Read More +

Next How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Filibuster
Posted 02/19/10

Chaos Theory and the United States Senate

Read More +

Next Building a Sustainable Haiti
Posted 02/01/10

From Capitol Hill to the blogosphere, people are talking about how best to rebuild Haiti. This past week, Senator John Kerry convened a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to question experts on the best path forward. While both Senators and witnesses were appropriately hesitant to talk about the current tragic state of affairs as an “opportunity,” the consensus was clear. The recent earthquake and resulting devastation opens the door to rethink U.S. and international policy towards the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Read More +

Next