Having more candidates come with a creative and artistic sensibility would actually bring more people out to vote.
Zephyr TeachoutThere's a tendency, especially among academics, to see politics as deeply dirty and deeply egotistical.
Zephyr TeachoutThings poll well, but people don't believe that politicians are telling the truth. Politicians might mention renewable energy, and the public will think, "That sounds good, but I don't believe they're going to do everything they can to build those towers."
Zephyr TeachoutNew York City is one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to climate change, so I see Keystone as the central threat to New York.
Zephyr TeachoutI think part of the reason the Tea Party has resonated is that people feel disempowered. The Tea Party says, "You are out of power because of big government." Then some Democrats tend to respond by saying, "No, you're wrong, you're not out of power." It's a sense that doesn't resonate with people's lived experience.
Zephyr TeachoutI think a lot of the reason people are attracted to the Keystone pipeline is because at least we're doing something. There's a fear that society will collapse if it's not acting. To contrast those actions with other actions is important in making it feel plausible. Maybe we must have the size of the dream meet the size of the threat.
Zephyr Teachout