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David Sirota

David Sirota is the Director of Strategic Communications at the Center for American Progress and the American Progress Action Fund. He formerly served as chief spokesman for Democrats on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.

Recent Articles

Divvying Up Ohio

David SirotaOct 07, 2005

If elections are ugly things, primary elections are downright hideous, especially on the Democratic side. Ronald Reagan's famous Eleventh Commandment -- paraphrased as, "Thou shalt not speak badly of a fellow party member" -- is rarely respected, no matter how much it is publicly venerated.

Few argue that these primaries weaken a party's ability to ultimately win the seats it is aiming for. Primary candidates spend months publicly beating one another up and spending money that should otherwise be hoarded for use against the other party. Meanwhile, incumbents rise above it all, using their public office to run a Rose Garden-like campaign, stressing their credentials as statesmen above the odious partisan sniping taking place on the other side of the aisle.

Watergate's Lost Legacy

David SirotaJun 02, 2005

Upon the news this week that Watergate source “Deep Throat” had come forward, CNN's Judy Woodruff waxed nostalgic about the golden era of muckraking journalism. "It is so hard, I think, for young people we know who work here at CNN and other news organizations to even imagine what Watergate was like," she said. "To have a White House come undone, an administration come undone, because of some news reporting." Coming from a lead reporter at one of America's largest cable networks, it was truly a sad commentary.

The Democrats' Da Vinci Code

David SirotaDec 20, 2004

As the Democratic Party goes through its quadrennial self-flagellation process, the same tired old consultants and insiders are once again complaining that Democratic elected officials have no national agenda and no message.

Yet encrypted within the 2004 election map is a clear national economic platform to build a lasting majority. You don't need Fibonacci's sequence, a decoder ring, or 3-D glasses to see it. You just need to start asking the right questions.

The Democrats' Da Vinci Code

David SirotaDec 08, 2004

As the Democratic Party goes through its quadrennial self-flagellation process, the same tired old consultants and insiders are once again complaining that Democratic elected officials have no national agenda and no message.

Yet encrypted within the 2004 election map is a clear national economic platform to build a lasting majority. You don't need Fibonacci's sequence, a decoder ring, or 3-D glasses to see it. You just need to start asking the right questions.

Debate School

David SirotaSep 24, 2004

Perhaps no candidate in the last 20 years has had so much riding on the presidential debates as John Kerry does. Bludgeoned by merciless attack ads and a well-oiled right-wing spin machine, Kerry is still a virtual unknown to many Americans, with few having a clear picture of who he is or what he stands for. This din of distracting issues and cheap personal attacks has also, by design, deprived voters of a crisp and cogent case against the current administration.

Yet, as testament to George W. Bush's inherent weaknesses, Kerry still remains neck and neck with the incumbent in the polls. That means that the upcoming debates represent his best chance yet to go from undefined challenger to legitimate alternative. To get there, here are the top 10 things he must do:

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