I am going to have a very difficult time being objective when we start workshopping our writing.

I can undestand that. One thing to keep in mind is that paper dolls only have one demision. If he's that much of a cause-head poseur personally then chances are it bleeds over into his writing like a ruptured aorta. Then you'll be able to critque him for getting on a soapbox with only a fraction of an argument.