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Once upon a time, conservatives were famously good at what George Lakoff called "moral politics." They won over Americans with simple -- often simplistic -- value propositions. Progressives, meanwhile, often struggled with this dimension of politics, gravitating more toward consumerist appeals about expanding individual rights or delivering economic gains. Most maddeningly, conservatives grabbed the value of work and, for a long time, scored big political and policy gains by trumpeting the edict that nobody should get welfare or social benefits who didn't work.
My newest article at The Atlantic examines Vermont’s push for universal healthcare. Rather than reform the individual market and leave the employer-based healthcare system largely intact, Vermont is working towards a Medicare-for-all system. All Vermont citizens will be enrolled in Green Mountain Healthcare.
From the late 1970s through the early 2000s, evangelical Christians were among the most zealous foot soldiers of the New Right. They pushed the Republican Party to a more extreme conservatism and provided the electoral muscle to win key elections. Their power reached new heights in the 1990s, and their political influence peaked during George W. Bush's presidency -- and especially the 2004 election, which Bush won with high levels of evangelical turnout.
According to human resources surveys, nearly half of all employers now conduct credit checks as part of their hiring process. Yet there is little basis for this practice.
That seems like an odd question to ask, since a central goal of progressive politics is to revive government as a powerful agent for improving American life -- expanding protections for workers, the poor, consumers, investors, and the environment. Amen to all that.