Praise for Thinking Points
"Lakoff has done it again. In Thinking Points, the good professor and the Rockridge Institute team have connected a broad progressive policy vision to fundamental American values. It's time for progressives to get off defense and go on offense. By laying the foundations of progressive policy in the traditional American values of freedom, responsibility, and care for others, George Lakoff and Rockridge have shown us how. This is the must-read progressive-message handbook."
—Wes Boyd,
MoveOn.org
"George Lakoff serves progressives well by explaining how language and moral framing equals power in politics. Thinking Points helps leaders and activists alike to turn this knowledge into a compelling vision for society."
—John Podesta, CEO and President,
Center for American Progress
"In Thinking Points, George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute show how progressives can stop appealing to some hypothetical 'middle' and instead appeal to the deep morality that the vast majority of Americans share. When we speak from our hearts, the integrity of this will speak broadly."
—Joan Blades,
MoveOn.org
"In an environment too often dominated by sound-bite arguments and political polarization, Thinking Points is more than a communications tool; it is a must-read for progressives as well as for nonpartisan activist organizations like the ACLU that want to trumpet their values not only loudly, but effectively. Professor Lakoff's expertise has been invaluable in articulating
the ACLU's core values—fundamentally American values—to a broad and politically diverse audience."
— Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director,
American Civil Liberties Union
"This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to speak out effectively about progressive American values."
—Eli Pariser, Executive Director,
MoveOn.org Political Action
"Lakoff offers a pragmatic primer on how to put the common good back
into the frame of our nation's political future."
"A Must Read"
—
Jim Swanson at Progressive News Daily
"Lakoff and the Institute take their reader through just about every major political debate, explaining how deep framing affects surface framing on each and how both progressive and conservative frames understand the deeper issues behind the policy debates - issues like self-reliance, common good and the morality of property ownership. They then show how to frame progressive arguments in ways that conservatives and biconceptuals (moderates) can easily access and in ways that they can relate to and agree with, while still remaining authentically progressive. He then makes one final point - that framing has to be repeated, time and again and across the board, until it becomes as pervasive and automatic as the conservative narrative has been, and then more so.
In 156 easily accessible pages, Lakoff sets the standard upon which all future discussion of the deep cognitive nature of political debate - the meta-politics - will be based. As such, I heartily recommend that you go buy this book. It is a must read."