The goal of the new organization, which expects to operate with an annual budget of $10 million, is to develop "progressive" ideas — its backers avoid the word "liberal" — and aggressively push them onto the airwaves and into print.
The president of the organization, temporarily calling itself the American Majority Institute, is John Podesta, a chief of staff in the Clinton White House.
"We're focused on setting a direction for the country and critiquing the direction that the right wing is taking it in," Mr. Podesta said in an interview. "We want to take on the right rather than try to make this an argument about whether the Democratic Party should go left or center."
Great. Take on the right while not using the word "liberal." For goodness sake, why not just use the word liberal proudly? That would do more to take on the right than 100 white papers. Still, something is better than nothing.