Two battles are being waged in the public policy and political sphere that will determine the future direction of the country. One is the debate among the presidential candidates. The other is the less visible but critically important ideological debate being waged in the blogosphere, the media, and in workplaces and homes to define the best policies that will lead our nation back to a position of prosperity and strength.
The Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF) has assembled a new policy war room to make the progressive case in this ideological debate. The war room — dubbed the Hyde Park Project — will feature the first-ever public policy rapid response blog of its kind.
Primarily through daily postings on The Wonk Room blog site (www.thinkprogress.org/wonkroom), the Hyde Park Project will focus on driving the ideological debate in four key policy issue areas: health care, economic mobility, national security, and climate change. The daily mission of the project is a substantive, focused, and relentless effort in each of these areas:
— Defining the Bush record on the four core policy areas
— Critiquing the conservative approach
— Promoting progressive policy solutions
— Defending those progressive ideas from false attacks
This year the public is paying more attention to the progressive-conservative ideological debate. And while much of the media will inevitably focus on the political horserace, the Hyde Park Project’s goals are different: We will draw attention to substantive differences between conservative and progressive policy approaches and work to advance the progressive perspective. Our ultimate goal is to create a mandate for progressive action in each of the four core policy areas. The impact will be felt in the environment these policy arguments create for action on these issues in 2009 and beyond.
In addition to a significant blog presence, the Hyde Park Project will commission new academic analyses and studies to bolster progressive policy arguments.
To maximize its influence, the project will utilize the CAPAF’s existing resources. The Wonk Room will operate as a sister-site of ThinkProgress, the 26th most popular blog in the world with an audience of over 1 million unique visitors a month. The Wonk Room team will also write content for The Progress Report, an e-newsletter with nearly 80,000 subscribers. The Wonk Room content will also be disseminated to radio stations via Mic Check, CAPAF’s radio prep service.
The Hyde Park Project will combine the talents of individuals from unique backgrounds, joining former policy directors of presidential campaigns with established progressive bloggers and skilled political researchers.
For press inquiries, please contact: Daniella Gibbs Léger at [email protected]