Take Back America
An Honor For 'A Born-Again American'
Norman Lear received the America's Future Lifetime Leadership Award at the Take Back America Gala Dinner on Tuesday evening. Lear was recognized for his work as both a groundbreaking television producer and an outspoken progressive activist and benefactor.
• See the video of Lear's acceptance speech and read our blog post.
• Watch Lear's plenary presentation at Take Back America 2008.
• Go to the agenda page for more videos and materials from the Take Back America conference.
Lessons from the 1960s for 21st-Century Change
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Roger Wilkins — an activist outsider and a White House insider in the 1960s — say that today's progressive movement needs to lay claim to the successes of the 1960s in order to advance its agenda in 2008 and beyond. “The third rail is where the energy is, where the power is, where the fire is,” Jackson said. The focus of this year's Take Back America conference has been the need to build an independent progressive movement ready to hold accountable whoever controls the White House and Congress.
TBA 2008: Maria Leavey Award Winner
Jim Gilliam of Brave New Films is given the Maria Leavey Award at Take Back America 2008. The award is given to a person who has given outstanding service behind the scenes to the progressive movement. To read more about Gilliam, the Maria Leavey Award and the finalists, click here.
Issue No. 1: The Economy
March 19th, 2008
Given the headlines of the past few weeks, it's perhaps no surprise that the number one issue on the minds of Take Back America participants is the economy, according to a poll done by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Politico.com. read more »
Progressives On the Rise, Conservatism in Decline
Activists head to Washington for the Take Back America conference amid signs that the progressive movement is on the verge of a political transformation as dramatic as the infamous "Reagan revolution" of the 1980s. A resurgent progressive movement is emerging as the evidence mounts that the conservative movement's heyday has ended, done in by three decades of failure.
Read our blog on the opening plenary featuring Robert Borosage, Diane Archer, Van Jones and Donna Edwards.
See our latest reports:
- "Progressives Rising—2008: A Sea-Change Election"
- "The Decline of Conservatism," by Stan Greenberg
- "Conservatism is Dying," by Eric Lotke
Check the conference home page for new details on schedule and speakers.
Facts & Resources
The Decline of Conservatism
Based on polling from a variety of sources, this report concludes that the conservative ideology is losing favor with the American public and that progressive approaches on such issues as the social safety net, government regulation and foreign policy are increasingly popular.read more »
The News
The Voices
What Patriotism Is
Details of Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism got buried in the wake of General Wesley Clark's politically lunkheaded comment that "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" doesn't qualify Sen. John McCain to be president. But over the Fourth of July weekend, it might be appropriate and enlightening to take a few minutes to read or watch the whole thing.read more »
Drilling for Defeat?
Nearly two decades ago, Republicans won the West by linking Democrats to environmentalists, who supposedly cared more for the spotted owl and other favored species than they did for the jobs of loggers or miners. But now, as a boom in natural-gas drilling reshapes the region, Western Democrats have found success recasting environmentalism as a defense of threatened water supplies, fishing spots and hunting grounds.read more »
Latest from our Bloggers
mar
19
2008
2008: The Gauntlet
Forty.
Fifty-seven.
Sixty-three.
Those are the three numbers Brad Woodhouse of Americans United for Change is begging progressives to worry about in the months leading up to the November election. read more »
mar
19
2008
"... For All"
Yesterday, I spent interviewing Take Back America attendees about the issues that are important to them as progressives, I was reminded of what being a progressive is — at its core — about. Their answers were personal, as parents and grandparents talked about the kind of world they want their children and grandchildren to inherit. But there was another aspect to their answers.read more »
mar
18
2008
An Honor For 'A Born-Again American'
Norman Lear received the America's Future Lifetime Leadership Award at the Take Back America Gala Dinner on Tuesday evening. Lear was recognized for his work as both a groundbreaking television producer and an outspoken progressive activist and benefactor. Also honored was Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky for her advocacy in Congress and the Green Jobs for All team of Van Jones and Majora Carter.
mar
18
2008
An Historic Mobilization of Progressive Power
One of the underappreciated success stories of 2008 is the growing ability of the progressive movement to accumulate resources and use them to push toward a set of common goals. read more »
mar
18
2008
The New Green Deal
At the "New Green Deal" luncheon, Majora Carter of Sustainable South Bronx just delivered one of the most powerful presentations heard at Take Back America 2008, detailing her efforts to bring green-collar jobs and open spaces, sparking a transformation of the poorest area of New York City. read more »
mar
18
2008
The Power of Blogs: Beyond 2008
Earlier this morning at Take Back America 2008, some of the leading lights of the progressive blogosphere -- Chris Bowers, Digby, Terrance Heath, Tracy Russo and Pam Spaulding -- gathered to discuss how blogs have successfully influenced the political and media establishments, and how blogs can continue their success as the political environment shifts. read more »
mar
18
2008
The Bush Legacy: Reason for Hope
Read Isaiah's account of this morning's landmark panel with Roger Wilkins, Jesse Jackson, and Taylor Branch before you bother with my mere two cents. read more »
mar
18
2008
Lessons from the 1960s for 21st-Century Change
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Roger Wilkins — an activist outsider and a White House insider in the 1960s — say that today's progressive movement needs to lay claim to the successes of the 1960s in order to advance its agenda in 2008 and beyond. “The third rail is where the energy is, where the power is, where the fire is,” Jackson said. The focus of this year's Take Back America conference has been the need to build an independent progressive movement ready to hold accountable whoever controls the White House and Congress.
