Savage on CAP
Charlie Savage, fresh from investigated the abuses of power at the heart of the Bush administration, takes a gander at John Podesta and the Center for American Progress. This isn’t the main point of the piece, but I did want to emphasize one thing:
With Democrats back in control of the executive branch, the question now, Professor McGann said, is whether the center will keep going. If its policy experts all leave for government jobs, he said, it could collapse as quickly as it rose.
Mr. Podesta, for one, plans to stay. On Wednesday, when he was named to the transition team, he sent an e-mail message to the center’s staff pledging that “I will not be joining the new administration and will return to American Progress after the transition ends.”
We could all be killed in a meteor strike next week but, really, everyone has every intention of the Center continuing to exist. The Heritage Foundation didn’t close its doors when Ronald Reagan came into office. If anything, it grew in size and influence as people realized that this whole conservative movement thing was kind of a big deal. Politicians being in office who are sympathetic to progressive ideas doesn’t obviate the need for politically engaged policy analysis and communication. Indeed, in a lot of ways it makes it more important for someone to be doing work that’s a bit detached from the day-to-day dictates of political expediency.
20 Responses to “Savage on CAP”
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November 7th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Hear, hear!
November 7th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Of course CAP has to keep going. The conservative think tanks are the combined minor leagues and floating reserves for the conservative movement. CAP should be planning to expand its resources and influence.
After all, we know there is a shortage of experts in Washington. The Cato Institute holds Libertarian views that would be considered bizarre by about 95% of the citizenry, but it gets on NPR every day. Surely the folks at All Things Considered and Morning Edition are only using Cato because more mainstream experts are hard to find.
I mean, that’s got to be it, right? They can’t be bringing those radicals so often on just to curry favor with right-wing congressmen?
November 7th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Meaning – in addition to the legitimate high level rationales – that you’ve still got a job!
November 7th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Why do I have the feeling we should compare Matt’s statement here with GM’s statement in the later post.
November 8th, 2008 at 12:48 am
I couldn’t figure out why you would trade the Atlantic for CAP. Savvy fucking call.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Be afraid, be very afraid!
LOL
November 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
If its policy experts all leave for government jobs, he said, it could collapse as quickly as it rose.
This is obviously true. It’s not like there are thousands of smart, young liberals with social science degrees who would want a job at a progressive policy institute in Washington D.C. Especially if a bunch of its employees just found jobs in the Obama Administration. I mean, what kind of job security is that?
November 18th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Appearances are deceitful
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A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, “Doc, my brother’s crazy, he thinks he’s a chicken.” The doctor says, “Why don’t you turn him in?” The guy says, “We would. But we need the eggs.”
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