National Analysis

Democratic Party Looks Like America

THE HILL 09/06/12 By Michael Shank Being here in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, having watched the Republican National Convention religiously on television, one thing that is explicitly different between the two national conventions is the diversity of delegates. Walking the convention hallways, the arena stairways, […]

Political Discourse: A Family Affair

WASHINGTON POST 09/04/12 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned from, […]

What Paul Ryan’s Economic Roadmap Means for America

POLITICO 08/24/12 By Michael Shank Working with one of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s Democratic colleagues on the budget committee, as senior policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Michael Honda (D-Calif.) for several years, I know the economic picture Ryan is trying to paint all too well. It is a grim […]

Republicans and the Mennonite Vote

THE HILL 08/17/12 By Michael Shank In pursuing politics in Washington, and as a former senior congressional staffer, I am the odd one out in my extended family: many, if not most, of my relatives are farmers, preachers or teachers. At family reunions, consequently, like the one I recently returned […]

We Must Make Anti-Bullying a Mainstream Message

THE HILL 08/09/12 By Michael Shank On the heels of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting its Third Annual Bullying Prevention Summit this week, which is fortuitously timed and desperately needed. Without question, the Sikh temple shooter, Wade Michael Page, a self-proclaimed skinhead, […]

Questions Must Be About Gun Safety

FINANCIAL TIMES 08/04/12 By Michael Shank Sir, The real problem with the US gun debate is that polling questions are frequently framed as gun rights not as gun safety (“It is plain wrong to see the gun lobby as Svengali”, July 28). Few Americans want their rights stripped, but most […]

With Income Inequality Comes Violence

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/18/12 By Michael Shank David Rosnick is spot on in “Breaking Down the Causes of Income Inequality” (07/16/12), but what about the effects of income inequality? Our research at the Institute for Economics and Peace shows that America’s high income inequality — at its highest […]

When Washington Welcomes A Nonviolent Muslim

POLITICO 06/02/12 By Michael Shank CBS News “60 Minutes” recently produced a show about Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, spurred by concern about the so-called Hizmet movement’s alleged connection to a growing network of high performing and nationally ranked charter schools in the US.  These schools rank in Newsweek’s top […]

Gridlock is Death for Deliberation

FINANCIAL TIMES 05/21/12 By Michael Shank Sir, Edward Luce is spot on regarding Capitol Hill appraisal of partisanship pulling punches on solutions (“Why Washington gridlock is here to stay”, Book Review, May 14). One solution – speaking as a left-leaning voter who once worked for a Republican Congressman – is […]

Grace on Wall Street

SOJOURNERS 04/24/12 By Michael Shank When Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman stepped up this year to defend Goldman Sachs – a company that was reeling from former employee Greg Smith’s New York Times op-ed decrying the change in culture at the company (and is now reeling from a sex-trafficking website […]