Liberals fight back with "Contract with America"-style coalition, Norquist-like Tuesday Group

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Liberal Coalition Eyes First Hundred Hours
Lobbying and PR Offensive for New Congress Mirrors Conservative Efforts
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Page A06

A large group of liberal organizations is planning to wage a national lobbying and public relations campaign to press for passage of the House Democrats' legislative agenda next year, taking a page from longtime corporate practices.

The Change America Now coalition, or CAN, met yesterday at AFL-CIO headquarters to outline the many methods it will use -- including the release of research papers and e-mail and phone bombardment of Congress.

The goal is to persuade on-the-fence lawmakers in more than 80 congressional districts to vote for the "Hundred Hours" agenda, a list of legislation that Democrats hope to approve in the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress. The agenda includes an increase in the minimum wage and an effort to reduce the cost of Medicare prescription drugs.

The campaign will largely target Republican moderates and Republicans who were narrowly elected in November. The group's leaders said they hope to increase the margin of victory for each plank of the platform in the House to boost the measures' prospects in the Senate -- a much harder place for them to succeed. In addition, they said early wins will make it easier for each organization to persuade Congress later to approve other elements of their own legislative wish lists....

***

Yesterday morning, at a regular, biweekly meeting of liberal organizations called the Tuesday Group, about 100 people packed a conference room to hear the coalition's strategy....The effort they discussed was reminiscent of the elaborate business-backed lobbying campaign 12 years ago that pushed the "Contract With America," which was the then-Republican majority's legislative agenda....The meeting was also an echo of a conservatives' gathering that started in 1993 and continues to this day, hosted by Grover G. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist's weekly "Wednesday Meeting" routinely attracts 150 people and is a forum for discussing ways to bolster conservative policies....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/05/AR2006120501262.html

[LSparkle]

1. Glad to see unions/workers organizations fighting back

There are TWO sides to "business" -- workers AND management; so far only the latter has had any real power in D.C.

[Infinite Hope]

2. Ditto. K&R