conservative movement
The Powell Memo and the Teaching Machines of Right-Wing Extremists
Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, echoing the feelings of many progressives, recently wrote in The New York Times about how dismayed he was over the success right-wing ideologues have had not only in undercutting Obama's health care bill, but also in mobilizing enormous public support against almost any reform aimed at rolling back the economic, political, and social conditions that have created the economic recession and the legacy of enormous suffering and hardship for millions of Americans over the last 30 years.[1]
Why the National Debate is Still Conducted on the Right's Terms
Conservative columnist and cable news pundit Amanda Carpenter posted a telling observation on Twitter: "It's remarkable all Palin had to do is say death panels in a Facebook statement to make the President on down start talking about them."
The Daily Show has a snarkier take: "You know a sales pitch is in trouble when it starts with 'look you've got to trust me, we're not going to kill your grandparents.'"
They're both making an important point: the debate over health reform is playing out on the right's terms. The national discourse (if you can call it that) could very well have been about the benefits of a single-payer system, but aside from a sham vote to appease progressives, single-payer is considered anathema in the media and political establishment and instead Democrats are scrambling to respond to a barrage of rightwing talking points.
Conservative Movement
Information About the Right
This is Commonweal Institute's collection of articles, reports and resources for studying the right-wing ideological movement.
We hope that you can take the time to become informed on these issues, and inform others.
We also have a Progressive Infrastructure Information page with articles, reports and resources focusing on development of Progressive infrastructure organizations and a Progressive Philosophy and Values page, with articles, reports and resources focusing on Progressive philosophy and values.
Contents:
Understanding Progressive Infrastructure
The American conservative movement has succeeded in moving public attitudes steadily rightward over the last 30 years, with far-reaching consequences for the country’s political governance. This success has been achieved through a well-funded and well-coordinated organizational infrastructure that follows a long-term, disciplined communications strategy. In order for moderates and progressives to maximize the power of their own ideas and values, and to compete effectively with conservatives over the coming decades, they must develop, without delay, their own infrastructural capacity and p
Framing a Progressive Agenda
At time when news of climate change, human rights abuses, the UN's Millennium Ecological Assessment, and the dire state of the half of the world’s population that lives on less than $2 a day should be bringing new adherents, Progressives seem to be losing influence around the world. The work of many of us demonstrates that appealing alternatives exist to the destructive practices of the last century. Yet despite our efforts these lessons remain isolated and largely ignored. We must and we can do better.
Most Children Left Behind: The Right’s Assault on Public Education in America
Back when American conservatives took fiscal responsibility seriously (i.e., the early 1990s), they floated the idea of a constitutional amendment banning unfunded federal mandates. How the tables have turned! Today, the No Child Left Behind Act, which embodies the conservative approach to educational reform, is under legal attack for failing to provide any money for the requirements it imposes on states and school districts, at a time when local budgets are stretched to the breaking point.
A War of Ideas: Examining the Right’s Intellectual Infrastructure The Lewis F. Powell Model
This paper uses Lewis Powell's 1971 "manifesto" as a framework for examining how the Right has gained power over the last 30 years relative to Progressives and Democrats. Particular focus is on think tanks, universities, judicial system, and media and marketing.
Read the white paper here (PDF)
The American Political Marketplace: New Citizens, New Machines, New Strategies
American citizens today have a decreased sense of community spirit and less sense of civic responsibility, compared to the time of the nation's founding. They are motivated first and foremost to maximize their own personal interests. They have become passive consumers of American politics.
Creating Progressive Infrastructure Now: An Action Plan
This seminal paper by the co-founders of the Commonweal Institute articulates the need for organizational infrastructure for the modern progressive movement. It describes the nature of political movement infrastructure, the infrastructure functions important to advancing the goals of a movement, important process considerations in the establishment and function of infrastructure, and options for funding and supporting infrastructure for the progressive movement.
Lessons from the Right: Saving the Soul of the Environmental Movement
The environmental movement, alongside the larger progressive network, has failed to recognize the incredibly effective strategies that have allowed the Right to take over the political systems of the country. Jeni Krencicki and Dahvi Wilson identified ten lessons that environmentalists and progressives more broadly must master in order to elevate their cause to a position equal to that of the Right.
Read the report.
