it took him a while but soros finally managed to buy the presidency. On Nov 19, 8:35 pm, Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: Travis > Subject: "Soros-Funded Democratic Idea Factory Becomes Obama Policy > Font"--Bloomberg.com: > Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, > > Bloomberg.com: > News<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aF7fB1PF0NPg> > > Soros-Funded Democratic Idea Factory Becomes Obama Policy Font > By Edwin Chen > [image: Enlarge > Image/Details]<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=photos&sid=aF7fB1PF0NPg> > Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Three blocks from the White House, on the 10th floor > of a sleek glass building, young workers pound at computers, with giant > flat-screen TVs overhead. It has the look and feel of a high-tech startup. > In many ways it is. The product is ideas. > Thanks in part to funding from benefactors such as billionaire George Soros, > the Center for American Progress has become in just five years an > intellectual wellspring for Democratic policy proposals, including many that > are shaping the agenda of the new Obama administration. > Much as the Heritage Foundation provided intellectual heft for the > Republican Party in the 1980s, CAP has been an incubator for liberal thought > and helped build the platform that triumphed in the 2008 campaign. > ``What CAP has done is recapture the role of ideas as an important political > force, something the Republicans had been better at for 25 years,'' said > Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute, a non-partisan > policy-research organization in Washington. > CAP's president and founder, John Podesta, 59, former chief of staff to > President Bill Clinton, is one of three people running the transition team > for president-elect Barack Obama, 47. A squadron of CAP experts is working > with them. > Some of the group's recommendations already have been adopted by the > president-elect. > Withdrawal of Troops > These include the center's call for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from > Iraq and a buildup of forces in Afghanistan, a plan for universal health > coverage through employer plans and proposals to create purchasing pools > that allow small businesses to spread the cost among a larger group of > workers. Obama has endorsed much of a CAP plan to create ``green jobs'' > linked to alleviating global climate change. > CAP also is advocating the creation of a ``National Energy Council'' headed > by an official with the stature of the national security adviser and who > would be charged with ``transforming the energy base'' of the U.S. In > addition, CAP urges the creation of a White House ``office of social > entrepreneurship'' to spur new ideas for addressing social problems. > To help promote its ideas, CAP employs 11 full-time bloggers who contribute > to two Web sites, ThinkProgress and the Wonk Room; others prepare daily > feeds for radio stations. The center's policy briefings are standing-room > only, packed with lobbyists, advocacy-group representatives and reporters > looking for insights on where the Obama administration is headed. > `Premier Progressive' > ``The center is the premier progressive think tank in Washington,'' said > Mark Green, head of the New Democracy Project, an urban-affairs institute in > New York. > Just eight days after the Nov. 4 election, CAP released a 300,000-word > volume called ``Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th > President'' that offers advice on issues such as economic revival and fixing > the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Work on the book began almost a > year ago. > CAP, which has 180 staffers and a $27 million budget, devotes as much as > half of its resources to promoting its ideas through blogs, events, > publications and media outreach. > The center's future was far from certain in 2003, when wealthy donors such > as Soros and film producer Stephen Bing gave $10 million or more to fill > what they believed was an intellectual void in the Democratic Party and > create a vehicle to produce an agenda for the party's eventual return to > power. > Heritage Foundation > Podesta modeled the center on the Heritage Foundation, which became the > go-to policy-research organization in 1981 when newly elected President > Ronald Reagan embraced its conservative ideas embodied in a book called > ``Mandate for Leadership.'' Heritage was just seven years old. > CAP and Heritage have something else in common. > ``Others strive to be objective, we don't,'' said Jennifer Palmieri, CAP's > vice president for communications. > Podesta likes to say, ``we're not a think tank, we're an action tank,'' said > Dan Weiss, an environmental activist who joined CAP last year. > CAP isn't the only Democratic-leaning research organization in Washington > with enhanced cachet after Obama's election. > The 92-year-old Brookings Institution, for example, has advisers in Obama's > inner circle, including economist Jason Furman and foreign-policy expert > Susan Rice. Others are working either part-time or full-time in the Obama > transition. > Podesta's center isn't even among the biggest or best- funded. Brookings has > a staff of more than 400 and an annual budget of $48 million. Heritage has a > staff of 200 and a budget of $60 million. The American Enterprise Institute, > which has close ties to the administration of President George W. Bush, has > about 140 staffers, including Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick > Cheney, and a budget of $28 million. > Influence > Yet CAP may be the most influential. In addition to Podesta, at least 10 > other CAP experts are advising the incoming administration, including Melody > Barnes, the center's executive vice president for policy who co-chairs the > agency-review working group and Cassandra Butts, the senior vice president > for domestic policy, who is now a senior transition staffer. > ``John understood that ideas have power in this town, and he brought in > super-bright people whose ideas have become essential reading,'' Isaacson > said. > CAP's successes offer a lesson for Republican-leaning groups, said James > McGann, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who > tracks policy groups. > ``They've shown that one has to constantly innovate and be responsible to an > ever-changing demographics and electorate, and have policies that are > responsive to that,'' McGann said. > To contact the reporter on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] . > *Last Updated: November 18, 2008 00:01 EST* > > <%20?Subject=Bloomberg%20news:%20%20Soros-Funded+Democratic+Idea+Factory+Becomes+Obama+Policy+Font+&body=%20Soros-Funded+Democratic+Idea+Factory+Becomes+Obama+Policy+Font+%0D%0A%0D%0A%20http%3A//www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3Demail_en%26refer=%26sid%3DaF7fB1P...> > Email > this > article<%20?Subject=Bloomberg%20news:%20%20Soros-Funded+Democratic+Idea+Factory+Becomes+Obama+Policy+Font+&body=%20Soros-Funded+Democratic+Idea+Factory+Becomes+Obama+Policy+Font+%0D%0A%0D%0A%20http%3A//www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3Demail_en%26refer=%26sid%3DaF7fB1P...> > <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aF7fB1PF0NPg#> > Printer > friendly > format<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aF7fB1PF0NPg#> > > ------------------------------ > Get the Moviefone > Toolbar<http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212774565x1200812037/aol?red...>. > Showtimes, theaters, movie news & more! > > -- > *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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