Now that Bush’s Social Security plan is officially dead, it’s time to start rewarding those who helped kill it. At the top of the list has to be Americans United to Protect Social Security, which led the drive to stop privatization, organize opponents, advertise, and run a surprisingly effective rapid-response “war room.”
Apparently, some Dems and leading lib activists got together and decided that it was a project that’s worth duplicating.
A coalition of labor leaders, progressive activists and top Congressional Democrats have reached a final agreement on transforming the nonprofit group that helped lead the fight against President Bush’s Social Security overhaul into a permanent, multimillion-dollar entity pushing a broader liberal agenda in the 2006 midterms.
The new group, a 501(c)(4), will shorten its name to Americans United and is expected to get an immediate cash infusion of $1 million in the coming weeks to ensure it will be fully operational by early next year, according to labor leaders and Congressional aides.
While the group will not have to disclose any of its donors because of its nonprofit status, the primary funders for Americans United will include MoveOn.org and a host of big unions, particularly the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
At first blush, the idea of yet another progressive group doesn’t sound terribly appealing. On the other hand, Dems and their allies seem ready to follow a simple adage: go with what works. Americans United to Protect Social Security helped lead and direct what was probably the biggest political/policy success the left has had in quite a while, and the group crafted the kind of strategy — consistent message, grassroots outreach, coordination with allies, etc. — that we need more of. If Dems are going to duplicate a model, this seems like the one to use.
The new group will be working off the model of the anti-privatization campaign waged by its predecessor, focusing on driving strategic message issues in the states through rallies and advertising campaigns. And, according to sources on Capitol Hill, it will aim to serve as a direct counter to Progress For America — the conservative 501(c)(4) with close ties to GOP leaders that has touted several aspects of Bush’s agenda, including Social Security and Supreme Court nominees, with a mix of paid media campaigns and grass-roots work.
By May 2006, the new group plans to have “on-the-ground operations” in 25 targeted states — just in time for the midterm cycle.