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Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship will depend on its interpretation of one key phrase

Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship will depend on its interpretation of one key phrase

This really may be the political end for Trump

This really may be the political end for Trump

Trump’s Rob Reiner Post Sparks Rare GOP Backlash

Trump’s Rob Reiner Post Sparks Rare GOP Backlash

California’s Governor Race Is a Democratic Nightmare, But There’s One Easy Fix

California’s Governor Race Is a Democratic Nightmare, But There’s One Easy Fix

Close up of President Trump signing an excutive order.

Just the Facts: Trump’s Mass Pardons Grab Headlines

Meet the change leaders: Ken Powley

Ken Powley
Team Democracy
David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsOct 03, 2024
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Ken Powley and Chris Newlon founded Team Democracy in early 2021. Its signature initiative is the nonpartisan Safe and Fair Election Pledge. The pledge is designed to create an important piece of common ground where Americans — including their elected representatives — can join together from opposite sides of the aisle in committing themselves to protecting the most essential guardrails of American democracy: safe and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power.

One of Team Democracy’s newer projects is the RAFT for America Challenge. Outfitters across the country offered pairs of participants, no matter what their differences, the opportunity to demonstrate that there is much more that unites us than divides us, and that we always do better by pulling together than by pulling apart. RAFT for America participants were treated to a transformative personal adventure in one of the most exciting and pristine places on earth!

Powley retired from a 46-year career at the helm of his whitewater rafting company to found Team Democracy. Powley brings a love of entrepreneurship and team building to his work in the nonprofit world, where, as he says, “I’ve come to think of democracy as being mainly a verb.” He and his wife, Penny, are proud parents of three. Of their six grandchildren, three called Kyiv, Ukraine, home until they were evacuated in the face of the Russian invasion. T

Powley, who lives in Mountain Top, Pa., prefers smaller government, reasonably limited regulation and lower taxes.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Powley for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of his democracy reform work:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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Where is the Holiday Spirit When It Comes to Solving Our Nation’s Problems?

Amid division and distrust, collaborative problem-solving shows how Americans can work across differences to rebuild trust and solve shared problems.

Getty Images, andreswd

Where is the Holiday Spirit When It Comes to Solving Our Nation’s Problems?

Along with schmaltzy movies and unbounded commercialism, the holiday season brings something deeply meaningful: the holiday spirit. Central to this spirit is being charitable and kinder toward others. It is putting the Golden Rule—treating others as we ourselves wish to be treated—into practice.

Unfortunately, mounting evidence shows that while people believe the Golden Rule may apply in our private lives, they are pessimistic that it can have a positive impact in the “real” world filled with serious and divisive issues, political or otherwise. The vast majority of Americans believe that our political system cannot overcome current divisions to solve national problems. They seem to believe that we are doomed to fight rather than find ways to work together. Among young people, the pessimism is even more dire.

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Varying speech bubbles.​ Dialogue. Conversations.
Varying speech bubbles.
Getty Images, DrAfter123

Political Division Is Fixable. Psychology Shows a Better Way Forward.

A friend recently told me she dreads going home for the holidays. It’s not the turkey or the travel, but rather the simmering political anger that has turned once-easy conversations with her father into potential landmines. He talks about people with her political views with such disdain that she worries he now sees her through the same lens. The person she once talked to for hours now feels emotionally out of reach.

This quiet heartbreak is becoming an American tradition no one asked for.

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Governors Cox and Shapiro Urge Nation to “Lower the Temperature” Amid Rising Political Violence

Utah Republican Spencer Cox and Pennsylvania Democrat Josh Shapiro appear on CNN

Political violence traumatized their states. A GOP and a Dem governor join to plead: Tone it down.

Governors Cox and Shapiro Urge Nation to “Lower the Temperature” Amid Rising Political Violence

In the days following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, I wrote Governor Cox’s Prayer Wasn’t Just Misguided—It Was Dangerous, an article sharply criticizing Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for his initial public response. Rather than centering his remarks on the victim, the community’s grief, or the broader national crisis of political violence, Cox told reporters that he had prayed the shooter would be from “another state” or “another country.” That comment, I argued at the time, was more than a moment of emotional imprecision—it reflected a deeper and more troubling instinct in American politics to externalize blame. By suggesting that the perpetrator might ideally be an outsider, Cox reinforced long‑standing xenophobic narratives that cast immigrants and non‑locals as the primary sources of danger, despite extensive evidence that political violence in the United States is overwhelmingly homegrown.

Recently, Cox joined Pennsylvania Governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, issuing a rare bipartisan warning about the escalating threat of political violence in the United States, calling on national leaders and citizens alike to “tone it down” during a joint interview at the Washington National Cathedral.

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The Great Political Finger Trap

Protesters gather near the White House on November 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. The group Refuse Fascism held a rally and afterwards held hands in a long line holding yellow "Crime Scene Do Not Cross" tape along Lafayette Square near the White House.

(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Great Political Finger Trap

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination earlier this year, a YouGov poll was released exploring sentiments around political violence. The responses raised some alarm, with 25% of those who self-identified as “very liberal,” and nearly 20% of those polled between the ages of 18 and 29, saying that violence was sometimes justified “in order to achieve political goals.” Numerous commentators, including many within the bridging space, lamented the loss of civility and the straying from democratic ideals. Others pointed to ends justifying means, to cases of injustice and incivility so egregious, as they saw it, that it simply demanded an extreme response.

But amidst this heated debate over what is justified in seeking political ends, another question is often overlooked: do the extreme measures work? Or, do acts of escalation lead to a cycle of greater escalation, deepening divisions, and making our crises harder to resolve, and ultimately undermining the political ends they seek?

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