The Rational Moderate

Methods

How we work

The Rational Moderate explains U.S. public policy with evidence you can check. Every post lists its sources, shows its data, and says how current that data is. This page explains who makes the posts, how, and what to do if we get something wrong.

Who we are

The Rational Moderate is published by one person under the pen name Editor, The Rational Moderate. We use a pen name so the work is judged on its evidence rather than on its author. The same person approves every post before it goes live and is responsible for everything on this site.

How a post is made

Every post goes through the same steps:

  1. Research. Sources are gathered, starting with government data, peer-reviewed research and nonpartisan analysts such as the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service.
  2. Drafting from that research.
  3. Editing against our editorial standards: the strongest case for each side, facts kept separate from judgments, opinion labeled, neutral language.
  4. A data check. The public data behind every chart is downloaded, and every number in the post is checked against its source.
  5. Automated checks block publication if a source is missing, a link is private or broken, a chart has no data or date, or draft notes were left in.
  6. Editor, The Rational Moderate reviews the post and its checks, and approves it for publication, or sends it back. Nothing is published without that approval.

What we never do

We never cite a fact we cannot link to the public document it came from, and we never invent quotes, figures or people. If you find a number you cannot trace to its source, that is an error, and we want to hear about it.

Sources

We prefer, in order: official government and statistical data; peer-reviewed research; nonpartisan analysts; reputable journalism. When we quote an advocacy group, from any side, we name it and label it as advocacy, and we never rely on it alone for a fact. Every source in a post made this way has a saved copy on the Internet Archive, so our citations keep working if a page moves. In those posts, a small raised number after a claim links to that source in the numbered list at the end of the post.

Data and charts

Every chart is built from a data file published with the site. Each one names its source, the series it uses, the date we retrieved it, how we transformed it, and the date the data runs through. Every chart has a table version for screen readers and for anyone who wants the numbers.

How we rate a belief

Some posts check common beliefs against the data, one at a time. We grade each belief as worded, literally, and give it one of three verdicts.

A verdict is about the evidence, not about any party, candidate or person who holds or repeats the belief, and the same three standards apply whichever side a belief tends to come from. We state each belief the way its believers state it, in their words, not in a weaker or stronger form. Every verdict names its sources, says in a sentence or two what the data show, and where we can, says what evidence would change it. A verdict is as of the post's date and is not a forecast. If new data or a correction changes one, the post says so in a dated note, as our corrections policy describes.

Dates

Policy changes quickly. Each post shows "Data as of" a date, and time-sensitive sentences carry their own dates. A post can be accurate on the date it was written and out of date later.

Older posts

Posts from before September 2026 predate this process. Those we have since checked claim by claim show that check at the top; the rest say at the top that they have not yet been re-verified. Posts from 2017 carry an archive notice: their figures are from the time they were written and have not been updated. We keep them online so existing links keep working. Older posts keep the citation numbers they were first published with, in brackets such as [3] or as raised numbers. They do not link to the source list at the end of the post, because their numbering can differ from it.

The calendar

The calendar lists two kinds of dates. The first is the release dates for the data on the tracker, as each publisher announces them. The second is a short list of scheduled policy dates: meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, the release of their minutes, and the federal general election.

We list a policy date only when the body's own published, recurring schedule sets it and the body has posted the date at a public address we link, or when a statute fixes the rule that sets it, as it does for Election Day. When a body qualifies, we list every date it publishes, not a selection. We do not list deadlines that depend on whether Congress acts, such as funding or debt limit dates, and we do not list hearings, votes, speeches or dates reported only by the press.

Every date is the publisher's; we never estimate one. When a publisher has not announced a date, we say so. For a weekly release, we list the dates the publisher's own weekly schedule and holiday list set, and only as far ahead as that list reaches. When a publisher calls its own date estimated, tentative or preliminary, we use its word. When a date changes, we change it, keep the old date visible and link the publisher's notice when there is one. Times are Eastern. The schedule is as of the date at the top of the calendar page, and a publisher may change a date after that.

Corrections

We correct errors openly. A correction is noted on the post with its date and what changed; we do not quietly rewrite claims. To report an error, use the corrections form and include a source if you can. See our corrections policy.

What Corrected, Clarified and Updated mean

A dated note that changes a post opens with one of these words. A correction fixes a fact that was wrong. A clarification fixes wording that could mislead. An update records that the world changed after we published. The corrections log lists every correction and clarification.

Independence

The Rational Moderate carries no advertising and accepts no sponsorship or donations.