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The Center for American Progress is an American political policy research and advocacy organization. Their website describes them as "...a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all." Center for American Progress mission statement Accessed June 19, 2006
Their President and Chief Executive Officer is John Podesta, former chief of staff to former United States President Bill Clinton. Located in Washington, D.C., the Center for American Progress's advocacy group, the American Progress Action Fund, has a campus outreach group, Campus Progress.
History and mission
The Center for American Progress was created in 2003 to balance think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. The Center describes their mission as:
- developing a long term vision of a progressive America,
- providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals,
- responding effectively and rapidly to conservative proposals and rhetoric with a thoughtful critique and clear alternatives, and
- communicating progressive messages to the American public.
Since its inception, the Center has gathered a group of high-profile senior fellows, including Lawrence Korb, Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan; Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton; Ruy Teixeira, political scientist and author of The Emerging Democratic Majority; and, most recently, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
The Center also produces the Bill Press Show, a syndicated progressive talk radio program broadcast from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m Eastern Time weekday mornings. Jones Radio Networks is the syndicator.
The Center has no information on its website about its funding, but the Washington Post reported that "...seed money pledged by such deep-pocketed Democrats as financier George Soros and mortgage billionaires Herbert and Marion Sandler..." assisted its formation.Washington Post article, CAP seed money source Accessed June 19, 2006
The Progress Report
The Center for American Progress publishes a daily email newsletter entitled The Progress Report, which is a recap and analysis of major political news in the United States, providing a progressive perspective on the day's stories.
The newsletter has four main sections: 1) in-depth item on a major topic of the day, such as the economy or foreign policy; 2) "Under the Radar," less prominent stories of the day including links to op-eds and news; 3) "Think Fast," links to new stories; and 4) the sidebar, entitled the "Daily Grill," which compares major right wing figures' current remarks with their past remarks.
Campus Progress
Campus Progress, launched in February 2005, is the Center for American Progress’s comprehensive effort to strengthen progressive voices on college and university campuses nationwide and to empower new generations of progressive leaders.
Campus Progress has five components:
- 1. a dynamic daily web magazine, CampusProgress.org, offering hard-hitting journalism, analysis, opinions, cartoons, video and organizing tools. CampusProgress.org has 1.8 million readers and has published more than 700 pieces including interviews with Barack Obama, Helen Thomas, Stephen Colbert, Margaret Cho, Larry David and Seymour Hersh. Print editions of the web magazine are distributed on campuses across the nation. The site also features an increasingly active blog with hundreds of contributors.
- 2. support for student publications on more than thirty-five campuses including Yale, Hampton University, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University and University of California at Irvine.
- 3. an events bureau that has so far sponsored over 200 speaking events, film screenings, debates and training programs.
- 4. national issue campaigns, as well as action grants that support student issue campaigns on individual campuses. Current Campus Progress campaigns focus on student debt and access to higher education, global warming and academic freedom.
- 5. the National Student Conference. The first annual conference was held on July 12, 2005 in Washington, DC and featured President Bill Clinton.
- From The Nation: “For the first time ever, campus progressives convened, conversed and organized at their own national conference ― something right-wing groups have done annually since the 1970s…The conference left students, from Young Democrats to radical activists, energized and teeming with hope. Almost everyone I spoke with left the conference believing that a real,thriving and broad-based progressive student movement was overdue, necessary and most importantly, possible.”
- The second annual conference, held on July 12, 2006 in Washington, featured Senator Barack Obama, and was attended by one thousand students from 48 states.
David Halperin, former speechwriter to President Clinton, has served as the Director of Campus Progress since its inception.
References
External links
"Center for American Progress"