Part 5: Why I Do What I Do

Everyone at NPC was asked to write a blog post about “Why I do what I do,” and this month it’s my turn . . .

I’ve been avoiding writing this for a while because, as you can probably imagine, after four months on a new job and nine months out of college, “why I do what I do” changes about every two weeks. I had a moment of clarity, though, last week while listening to Laura Flanders speak about her book, Blue Grit. There was obviously some discussion of the primary contest at the event, but I was impressed by how Laura kept emphasizing that we needed to be “keeping our eyes on the prize and the prize isn’t only the presidential election.”

I wrote down that phrase because it seemed like a great marketing description for NPC’s Victory in 2008 and Beyond “Political Mutual Fund,” but as I walked home that evening, I couldn’t get the line out of my head. It just made so much sense to me, and that, in a nutshell, is why I’m at NPC.

May 2007 was a great time to graduate from college for anyone with any sort of civic/political inclination because there was so much momentum for change in the political sphere and so many opportunities to get involved. While my initial thought was to work for one of the presidential campaigns, I couldn’t ever really commit myself to the idea that one candidate would be the answer, the person that was going to take us forward.

Though I found out about NPC by a lucky coincidence, what really sold me on moving across the country (after three phone interviews) was NPC’s optimistic and pragmatic approach to change. I was excited to be at a company that interfaced with such innovative and interesting groups in a place that is on the leading edge of the progressive movement.

What I love about the NPC team is everyone’s willingness to just roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty to find a solution, despite all of their cumulative years of experience with the problems in the current system. Though we don’t waste any time defining it, there is a real consciousness of and focus on “the prize” that shapes and drives all of NPC’s activities. It has been really inspiring to be part of a product that offers a tangible, viable way to move our country forward.

What is a "Progressive"?

Given that we have "progressive" in our name, you can probably imagine how often we get asked this question. Center for American Progress recently launched a new ad campaign: "Progressive. And Proud of It."




To watch more, go here.

Part 3: Why I Do What I Do

Every member of the NPC team was asked to write a quick post about "Why I Do What I Do." Today it's my turn...

To finish off my political science major my senior year of college, I enrolled in a class entitled “The Conservative Revolution.” Intrigued by the topic, as well as the professor who was rumored to wear a polka dot bow-tie, I signed-up immediately.

Throughout the semester, we studied the significant rise of conservatism in the last forty years. We learned about the highly sophisticated and effective political infrastructure of the Right, which has helped the GOP push their agenda and control the White House for 26 of the past 38 years.

While it was disconcerting to realize the power of Right, it was also enlightening to understand the importance of building a political infrastructure that pipelines fresh ideas, new leaders, and lots of money. I realized that as long as the Left commits to building its own political infrastructure, we do stand a chance at making change.

By the time I graduated, I was ready to put my ideals into action. That's when I came across this NY Times article and discovered NPC. I was in awe of NPC's philosophy that embraces an innovative and long-term approach to progressive politics. Right away, I moved to San Francisco and started interning at NPC. As I grew into my full-time position, I was able to see the progressive movement up close and understand the complexity of the political landscape.

To grow the progressive movement, we need people engaged in and committed to making lasting change. We need to make investments, not just in candidates, but also in progressive organizations and their leaders, a large component of our growing political infrastructure. At NPC we are helping you do just that.

Breaking Down Traditional Issue Silos Encourages Innovation

There is no silver bullet in progressive politics.

I have watched each election cycle where political players place their hopes on one charismatic candidate or one magic organization that will solve all of our political challenges. Progressive giving patterns have reflected this tendency as well.

Yet it has become clear to me that only a network approach will create the political impact that we are all seeking. Information moves too fast, issues have become too complex, and the challenges so vast.

So at New Progressive Coalition, we developed a Sector Approach to help clarify the different roles that individuals and organizations play in politics, and to help people better understand how to navigate this chaotic environment. We believe that a healthy movement is made up of six vibrant sectors that are connected to and dependent on one another:

Advocacy & Organizing: Organizations that work for the widespread support and adoption of progressive positions

Electoral: Organizations that focus on winning progressive electoral victories and encouraging greater civic participation

Idea Generation: Organizations and individuals that generate and encourage the adoption of strong and credible progressive ideas

Infrastructure & Capacity: A robust network of technical assistance and service providers who improve the impact and efficiency within the other sectors

Leadership Development: Organizations that build a continuous pipeline of progressive leaders

Media: Distribution channels that disseminate progressive content and ideas and expand the market for consumption of progressive thoughts and opinions

This sector approach is the basis for much of what we do at NPC. In a sense it is an organizing principle that allows us to foster collaboration by breaking down the traditional issue and constituency silos that exist. Not only does this help organizations reduce duplication of effort and the time spent reinventing the wheel, but it encourages political innovation where real breakthroughs can occur.

How We Define Progressive

If I receive an invite in the mail for a conference whose purpose is to finally define progressive, I decline. And if I happen to be at a political conference [which is rare], and someone raises their hand and asks, “can you define progressive,” I know it isn’t going to be productive.

When we first started New Progressive Coalition, I spent a lot of time in group discussions dominated by the topic of what it means to be progressive. I came to realize that this search for the perfect definition of a term that means many things to many people is a complete quagmire. These debates and discussions about labels divide us instead of embracing the people who define themselves as progressive for very different reasons and values. How does it help our country to spend time labeling people as moderate, centrist, or liberal instead of looking for different types of innovative and pragmatic solutions to our political problems?

The more labels we create, the more personal bias we add, which limits the ability for innovation to be fostered. It is just another political silo that limits the amount of people who can participate and collaborate.

So at NPC we define progressive based on its literal meaning.

PROGRESSIVE: CHANGE FOR THE BETTER; FORWARD THINKING

Most of the time, we don’t know innovation until after it has occurred. I think we should spend less time arguing what it means to be progressive and more time investing in the innovative and effective organizations that are making an impact.