Institute Fellow David Johnson

Commonweal Institute Fellow Dave Johnson recently wrote an article and led a discussion on the subject of Progressive Infrastructure at the popular blog firedoglake. The article, titled Blue America: Progressive Infrastructure, was part of firedoglake's Blue America series. Here's an excerpt: Look what we have been able to get done in this country with the smallest, minimally-funded hint at an infrastructure of organizations and media outlets.  We fought back against the conservative machine and we got the Democrats to start fighting back themselves. Imagine what we could do if we actually started funding serious progressive infrastructure (not issue-based) organizations nationally and in every state, building an ecosystem where young people get training and jobs, writers and advocates actually make a living and activists receive speaking fees. Imagine progressive non-profits having the budgets to reach out past the blogosphere and talk to the general public.

Congratulations to Dave for his continued leadership on this important topic. Click here to read the full article and discussion.

The Commonweal Institute has been designated the home and fiscal sponsor for the Progressive Ideas Network, an alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations working together to amplify the power of ideas in advancing today's progressive movement. Members include established DC think tanks like the Economic Policy Institute and the Institute for Policy Studies; activist organizations like the Center for Community Change and Campaign for America's Future; and innovative change agents like the Jamestown Project, Progressive States Network, and the Roosevelt Institution. The mission of the Network is to provide opportunities for collective action, offer service and training to its members, and create a forum for crafting long-term strategies and ideas. The Network's first collective action was a shared vision and agenda for the next Congress and Administration, called "New Progressive Voices: Values & Policy for the 21st Century."

"This Network has the potential to build a policy infrastructure that can power the next era in progressive politics," said Barry Kendall, the Institute's Executive Director and one of the Network's Co-Chairs. "Since its inception, the Commonweal Institute has advocated for the development of a more cohesive progressive movement, integrated across geographies, issues, and functional sectors. Serving as a coordinating force for the movement's leading idea generators is a natural fit with our overall mission and priorities."

For a complete list of members of the Progressive Ideas Network, see our Partners page.

Today, the Progressive Ideas Network, a diverse coalition of 20 think tanks and activist organizations, released "New Progressive Voices: Values and Policy for the 21st Century," a collection of essays that outline a long-term vision for America. The nine essays present ideas and policies for a bold new direction for our country. The Commonweal Institute's Executive Director, Barry Kendall, leads this network as one of two Co-Chairs, and he provided the Preface for this shared agenda.

The authors are an unusually diverse group from a wide array of organizations, perspectives and backgrounds; together, they grounded their essays in shared, progressive values. The result is a cohesive plan that establishes sound priorities for America’s future, and also lays the foundation for building a new progressive intellectual base for American politics.

Institute Fellow Kyle Gillette

A new analysis of contemporary progressive thought, titled “Modern Progressive Values: Realizing America’s Potential,” was released this week by the Commonweal Institute. “Defining the values that underlie and unite progressives has become an urgent question in the past few years,” said the report’s author, Institute Fellow Kyle Gillette. “We have come to recognize that, to a great degree, our political choices emerge from our sense of cultural identity and our emotional responses to stories and images, not from ‘rational’ cost-benefit analyses. Our findings have the potential to bring together a substantial portion of the American populace around a common values platform.”

Click here to download the report.

Tune in to "America: Inside and Out," the first episode of our new Talking Politics podcast series! Executive Director Barry Kendall leads a fascinating discussion about America's infrastructure, from bridges and roads to phone lines and the internet, with two leading experts: Tim Wu of Columbia Law School and FreePress, and Dr. Joanna Guldi, the Commonweal Institute's newest Fellow.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

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Executive Director Barry Kendall

Institute Fellow Joanna Guldi, PhD

Tim Wu, Columbia Law School and FreePress

Commonweal Institute Senior Fellow Patrick O'Heffernan interviews Netroots Nation 2008 attendees shown below.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

To download the podcast, right-click the link and Save As (PC) or Ctrl-click (Mac).

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen

Michael Khoo, Fenton Communications

Richard Negri, Teamsters.org

Amber Lee Ettinger AKA Obama Girl, BarelyPolitical and Melissa Klein, Launchsquad PR

Commonweal Institute Fellow Dave Johnson led a well-attended panel discussion and workshop on "Bloggers and the New Green Economy" on July 19, as part of the 2008 Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas. This topic was a good fit for Austin, where there is strong interest in building a strong green economy locally and throughout the state.

In a new Commonweal Institute report, What Do ”Progressives” Believe?, Princeton political science professor Jessica Trounstine takes an important step toward understanding those who say that they consider themselves progressive and those who report a positive view of the term. She presents an analysis of seven major surveys conducted from 2005 to the present to identify the values, attitudes and demographic portrait of today’s progressives. "The term 'progressive' has been gaining in popularity over the past ten years, but people seem to carry very different ideas of what it means," said Barry Kendall, Executive Director of the Commonweal Institute, the study's sponsor.

Princeton political science professor Jessica Trounstine

Andrew Byrnes, a rising star in California political circles, joined the Commonweal Institute’s Board of Directors in June.

“I have long been a supporter of Commonweal’s work,” said Byrnes. “They do great communications training for grassroots activists. I want to see their work expanded and more widely recognized in Sacramento and Washington, DC. I was one of the people who recommended Barry Kendall, the new Commonweal Institute executive director, for that position. He’s proving to be an ideal leader – forward thinking and dynamic. I’m looking forward to working with him and the Board.”

Byrnes is a shareholder (partner) at Heller Ehrman LLP, an international full-service law firm, where he practices intellectual property law and commercial litigation, and provides occasional pro bono services. He is active in charitable causes, including cystic fibrosis education and patient support, and organ donation and transplantation awareness. Byrnes chairs a county Democratic Central Committee and is presently a member of the Executive Board, Finance Committee, and Finance Council of the California Democratic Party. His bio can be seen here.

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