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Mark Schmitt

Mark Schmitt is a senior fellow and advisor to the president at the Roosevelt Institute, a New York-based think tank affiliated with the FDR Library. He is a former executive editor of The American Prospect. 

Recent Articles

Reluctant Radicals

Mark SchmittSep 17, 2006

It is conventional wisdom that the new democratic activists of the “netroots” are strong on political tactics but don't have much to contribute to the war of ideas. Matt Bai, writing in The New York Times Magazine, charged disparagingly that “leaders of the netroots … will tell you that Big Ideas are overrated.”

This isn't entirely fair, but let's take the point: The better-known lefty blogs are indeed weighted toward the tactical. They argue that the liberal establishment of think tanks and advocacy groups is built on the assumption that the government wants to do good and is open to their expertise, and not organized for the task of winning back such a government from its enemies.

Funny Business

Mark SchmittAug 13, 2006

What would the legendary labor leader Walter Reuther have said if 40 years ago he was told that American business was going to spend millions to register workers and encourage them to vote? He would probably have been ecstatic: “They're spending their money to turn out my people?!”

And indeed, since World War II, business usually stayed far away from that kind of politics. Corporations and their political action committees provided the money that drove campaigns -- for both parties, but more exclusively to Republicans after 1994 -- and that was where their involvement ended.

JACKSON, LAMONT, NEW POLITICS.

Mark SchmittAug 09, 2006

JACKSON, LAMONT, NEW POLITICS. Mike has a point about the implications of having Al Sharpton on stage with Lamont, and in particular directly behind his shoulder, which will be the visual. Someone up there needed to say, "OK, everyone who's not from Connecticut, to the edges, right now, and yes, that means you too, Reverend!" (The person who does that is called "the body guy," and it's a special skill.)

DEATH WITH DIGNITY.

Mark SchmittAug 09, 2006

DEATH WITH DIGNITY. I've been arguing for a long time that the Lieberman independent bid would fizzle, that Lieberman stood a much better chance of winning the primary than the general, and I still believe that. If I'm wrong about that, then my comment below is inoperative.

Putting Down Netroots

Mark SchmittAug 03, 2006

I have to take issue with my friend Scott Winship's article making the case that "the netroots" are about ideology -- lefty ideology -- rather than about pragmatically building the Democratic Party.

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