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How to Fight Back in the
Universities: Right Wingers want to Silence Liberals.
Progressives Must Build this Weapon or They Will Lose America;
Starting a progressive Policy Promotion Think Tank in Your
University.
- by ROB KALL
www.OpEdNews.com
- Now the right wing is trying to shut down one of the last
bastions of free speech and independing thinking—the university
classroom. They (the fascist idiots) want professors to get
permission from state legislators before they discuss anything
controversial.
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- I think this is a good time to tap the resources of
universities to build the strength of progressives and the left. A
little background:
-
- The right wing almost totally out-arms the democrats and
progressives with one weapon— a weapon which has proven to be the
most effective and powerful in American politics. The right has
literally dozens of “think tanks” that are really policy promotion
organizations and these are funded with hundreds of millions of
dollars in funding annually. These operations have produced the
most devastating effects in the form of won elections and seduced
special interest groups. They’ve developed language and concepts
to turn arcane
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- I’ve written about 10 articles on the need for progressives to
develop progressive counterparts to this unholy plethora of right
wing policy promotion organizations, euphemistically called “think
tanks” like the Heritage Foundation, Judicial Watch, Cato
Institute, PNAC, etc. Recently, a sophomore from a major
northeastern university who’d read my articles asked me for some
advice on how to start up a progressive policy promotion “think
tank.”
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- Here’s my advice:
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- Set some goals. Develop a vision statement and mission
statement.
- While the vision and mission statements can have a big picture
forest versus trees perspective, take smaller steps in your
shorter term goals.
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- Identify one or two issues you want to work on.
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- Decide how you want to make a difference.
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- Build a strong advisory board. Entice them with the university
resources you have access to. Identify local resources in your
university. The big multimillion dollar think tanks build studios
so their spokesmen and women can easily and conveniently appear on
network interviews. Your school probably has similar resources
that you can access for free. Tie this availability in to your
invitations to local activists and political pundits. Go for the
best names when you are setting up your advisory board. This will
help you with fundraising. Offer them access to your studio
facilities so they can appear on national network interviews. This
could also get you national media exposure.
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- Keep in mind the language you use. Read Lakoff’s Don’t
Think of an Elephant or, better, Lakoff’s more comprehensive
book, Moral Politics. You want to be sure you are reclaiming the
language and not unknowingly helping the right wing by passing on
their toxic memes.
-
- Identify who you want to influence. Start out local, and stay
focused, but keep in mind that you may be creating a model that
can be adopted nation-wide.
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- Recruit members from your areas local progressive
organizations.
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- Raise money. Hold a seminar, a house party, a dance, an art
show. Go to local foundations that support local non-profits.
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- Currently, the strongest progressive policy promotion
organizations is the Center for American Progress, headed by John
Podesta, Study the way they do things.
-
- Remember that the big think tanks have ten to fifty million
dollar a year budgets. You won’t. Aim high, hold onto your ideals,
but accept realistic goals. Take small steps and build a
successful track record. That will prove that you can plan,
execute and succeed, which will help with fund raising.
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Rob Kall
rob@opednews.com is editor
of www.OpEdNews.com Read over
150 of his articles at
Rob Kall's
article archive Rob lives in Bucks County PA, which, went
for John Kerry in the 2004 election. He also organizes the
Futurehealth Meetings (
www.brainmeeting.com )
More articles by Rob Kall on
Progressive, Policy Promotion Think Tanks
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