Anyone who remembers how the last Democratic effort on health care went down in flames -- dividing the party and leading to the Republican takeover of the Congress in 1994 -- remembers the infamous "Harry and Louise" attack ad. What fewer people remember is why the ad worked.

Continue reading "Making Friends with "Harry and Louise" : Winning Middle Class Support for Health Care Reform" »

In the run-up to the 2004 presidential election, a 26 year-old sociologist named Robb Willer achieved national notoriety when he showed that government-issued terror warnings correlated to higher job approval ratings for President Bush. As terror warnings went from yellow to orange and orange to red, Bush's approval ratings improved, and not just in national security but also on seemingly unrelated areas like the economy -- proof again of complexities of our myriad (ir)rationalities. Dr. Willer's findings landed him on the pages of USA Today and Washington Post, and in 2006 Willer became one of the youngest professors at the University of California. He is also a consultant to American Environics.

Continue reading "Terror, Status, and Masculine Overcompensation: A Profile of Dr. Robb Willer" »

The collapse of the Bush presidency offers progressives and environmentalists the best chance in decades to create a powerful and long-term governing majority. This governing majority could deal with the most serious issues facing America and the world, from energy to health care. But if we are to create this majority we must articulate a vision for the country, and a policy agenda to achieve it, that resonates with changing social values.

Consider how much has changed since the 1960s, when today's progressive and environmental leaders came of age. Americans today are materially wealthier. Our homes and cars are larger, and more of us own them. We take such luxuries as air conditioning, cell phones, and inexpensive air travel for granted. Americans of all colors are living roughly a decade longer, thanks in part to advances in medicine. But we are also more insecure financially. Globalization and America's transition to a service and knowledge economy from an agricultural and manufacturing one have brought outsourcing, downsizing, greater inequality, and rising financial instability with them.

Continue reading "Dealing with Insecurity" »

Agree or disagree? "The father of the family must be master in his own house."

If you agreed, you are increasingly not alone. Agreement with this Environics questionnaire item, which measures the value Patriarchy, rose from 42 percent of Americans in 1992 to 52 percent agreement in 2004.

This rising number usually generates shock and dismay from progressive audiences. But there is another question in our survey that might make you feel better: 87 percent of Americans agreed that, "If they are equally qualified for a job, men and women must always be paid the same salary."

In other words, a large percentage of Americans believe both that the father should be master and that equally qualified women and men should receive equal pay. But how can this be?

Continue reading "The Complexity of Gender" »

Social Values, Nano-Practices, and the Education of Adam Werbach

Last Thursday, I headed over to the Commonwealth Club to hear Adam Werbach talk about "The Birth of Blue." The speech marked a return of sorts for Adam and for me. Back in 2004, on the heels of "The Death of Environmentalism," I sat in the very same room and listened to Adam give a speech titled, "Is Environmentalism Dead?" that embraced the Death of Environmentalism thesis and promised to return to offer a way forward for those who were committed to building a sustainable world but were frustrated at the lack of progress environmentalists had made in actually doing so.

Continue reading "Return of the Prodigal Son" »

Is Dr. Pepper a Republican soda? Do Democrats prefer Popeye's fried chicken to Chick-fil-A?

A recent article in the New York TImes examines the explosion of microtargeting in political campaigns and what these seemingly individual choices tell us about ourselves and our political values. American Environics Senior Vice-President, Jeff Navin, speaks on the little issues making big political waves.

What's for Dinner? The Pollster Wants to Know