Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a new non-partisan Washington, DC-based think tank both lead and created by John D. Podesta.
The Center publishes a daily Progress Report, said by the National Review to be "The most aggressive, most energetic opposition research in politics."
According to an article by Matt Bai in the New York Times Podesta's "goal is to build an organization to rethink the very idea of liberalism, a reproduction in mirror image of the conservative think tanks that have dominated the country's political dialogue for a generation.
"Many such left-leaning ventures have been tried over the years and have failed to wield much influence, but Podesta's effort seems different, not only because of his considerable personal stature within the party but also because rage at the Bush administration has galvanized Democrats.
"'The rise of the machinery of ideas on the right has been impressive,' Podesta told the gathering [of Democrats], to nods of assent. 'People have noticed it, and we have talked about it. But we haven't really found the vehicles to compete with what's coming at us.'
"Going back to Barry Goldwater, Podesta said, conservatives 'built up institutions with a lot of influence, a lot of ideas. And they generated a lot of money to get out those ideas. It didn't happen by accident. And I think it's had a substantial effect on why we have a conservative party that controls the White House and the Congress and is making substantial efforts to control the judiciary.'
"Podesta laid out his plan for what he likes to call a think tank on steroids. Emulating those conservative institutions, he said, a message-oriented war room will send out a daily briefing to refute the positions and arguments of the right. An aggressive media department will book liberal thinkers on cable TV. There will be an edgy Web site and a policy shop to formulate strong positions on foreign and domestic issues. In addition, Podesta explained how he would recruit hundreds of fellows and scholars -- some in residence and others spread around the country -- to research and promote new progressive policy ideas. American Progress is slated to operate with a $10 million budget next year, raised from big donors like the financier George Soros.
"'The question I'm asked most often is, When are we getting our eight words?' Podesta said. Conservatives, he went on, 'have their eight words in a bumper sticker: Less government. Lower taxes. Less welfare. And so on. Where's our eight-word bumper sticker? Well, it's harder for us, because we believe in a lot more things.' The Center for American Progress, Podesta said, was concerned with articulating these principles carefully, over time, rather than rushing out an agenda to help win an election in 2004. 'We're trying to build an idea base for the longer term,' he said, to bring about 'an enduring progressive majority.'"
Personnel
Morton H. Halperin, senior vice president of the Center for American Progress. Halperin is also Director Open Society Institute and Open Society Policy Center [1]
Contact
Center for American Progress
805 15th St. NW
Suite 400
Washington DC 20005
202-682-1611
email:progress@amprog.org Web:
http://www.centerforamericanprogress.org"American Progress is slated to operate with a $10 million budget next year, raised from big donors like the financier George Soros. "
Clinton flack John Podesta and Open Society Institute and Open Society Policy Center(George Soros outfit).