Progressive Legislative Action Network
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Progressive Legislative Action Network
Washington Post Profile
Excerpt from Washington Post article titled "Rich Liberals Vow to Fund Think Tanks" dated August 7, 2005:[1]
- "There has been a flourishing of new, pro-Democratic think tanks and advocacy groups in recent years. Clinton administration chief of staff John D. Podesta established the Center for American Progress; former Democratic congressional aide David Sirota recently set up the state-oriented Progressive Legislative Action Network; and author David Brock helped create Media Matters for America last year, among others. All these groups are potential recipients of money from alliance partners.
Roll Call Profile
Excerpt from Roll Call:[2]
- This week, David Sirota, a former Democratic Congressional aide and activist, and Steve Doherty, a former Montana Senate Minority Leader, announced the launch of PLAN, and high-wattage Democrats such as former vice presidential candidate John Edwards, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and former California House Speaker Willie Brown, will appear at an upcoming event for the fledgling organization.
- The idea is to seed simultaneous policy efforts in the states, providing legislators with model bills that can be passed with minor adjustments essentially anywhere. Organizers hope this strategy will generate momentum and help refine tactics.
[...]
- “I think the most important thing about PLAN is that it’s a further indication that the states are being looked at with real seriousness on the progressive side,” said ]]Kristina Wilfore\\, executive director of the left-of-center Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.
- Bernie Horn, policy director for the Center for Policy Alternatives — a group whose mission overlaps with what PLAN intends to do — agrees that the timing is right for a state-focused approach.
Soros Funding
Circa 2006, progressive blogger, veteran political activist, David Sirota, launched a new group called the Progressive Legislative Action Network, which just received a $200,000 grant from George Soros’s Open Society Institute, as well as support from AFSCME, SEIU, and other unions and progressive groups, including MoveOn.org. The aim of the new organization was to push progressive legislation at the state level. PLAN bills itself as the leftwing answer to ALEC. [3]