funding progressive infrastructure
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.
Progressives Need Communication Infrastructure
It's becoming clearer every day that moderates and progressives need a more effective way to get their message out. The reason the Right has been so effective at getting their message out, and getting their politicians elected, and getting their policies enacted, is that they've established an extremely well-funded idea-development and communications infrastructure that has been called "The Mighty Wurlitzer." This infrastructure consists of think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute; radio talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh; TV pundits on Fox News; newspapers like the Washington Times and New York Post, publishing houses like Regnery; and a variety of other organizations.
All of this constitutes an "infrastructure" because it is already set up and in place, ready to amplify and disseminate any message that the conservative movement's ideological leaders feed into it. Moderates and progressives, meanwhile, don't have anything comparable in place. That has to change!
