News Release

WAR ROOM OPERATION TO TRACK CHANGES IN ECONOMY; DELIVER TALKING POINTS AND SOLUTIONS

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON – The Campaign for America’s Future launched an economic war room today to help frame the ongoing debate as the economy changes at an increasing pace and continues to get worse for millions of Americans. The operation will deliver daily poll-tested talking points to candidates, elected officials, talk show hosts, columnists, bloggers, labor leaders, activists and others, tying the latest research by think tanks like the EPI Policy Center to the latest opinion research by top strategists.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said the alerts will include a set of persuasive facts and arguments on key issues, linking to a comprehensive analysis of solutions to economic problems on people’s minds.

“The change in the economy has been abrupt and serious,” said Borosage. “Economic issues are obviously on everyone’s mind, so it’s important to understand what is happening and to have messages that can move people. Our effort provides real policy alternatives to the political messaging already out there.”

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake and Drew Westen, an Emory University professor who has studied the way Americans think about issues and make decisions, are advising Borosage on messages they have tested and measured for impact. Lake and Westen joined Borosage on a conference call with reporters today to launch the messaging project.

Lake said on today’s call that Americans are increasingly convinced the country is on the edge of a recession and that Washington is not responding adequately.

“Economic problems are creating deep discontent across America,” said Lake. “The American Dream is slipping away and people want leaders to focus on kitchen-table issues like jobs, education, health care, housing and retirement. They are to ready to support our ideas if we present our values and policy solutions in a compelling way.”

Westen said Americans, whether Democratic or Republican, are persuaded more by emotions and values than by a laundry list of issues so policy arguments must be linked to broader themes to connect with them.

“Progressives typically bombard people with a laundry list of issues and policy positions, while conservatives offer them emotionally compelling appeals, whether to their values or prejudices,” said Westen. “The war room is designed to change that.”

The need for the economic war room became clear when the Campaign for America’s Future met with dozens of elected officials and progressive leaders to discuss economic messaging. The group found that opinion leaders were better versed at political messages but less so on solutions and effective ways of communicating them. To fill that gap, more than 3,000 federal- and state-elected officials and 3,000 activists are already receiving alerts from the economic war room.

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**NOTE: Media representatives interested in more details about the economic war room should visit www.ourfuture.org/makingsense. Anyone interested in receiving real-time alerts, may do so by signing up on the website.**

THE RIGHT-WING BLOCK-AND-BLAME STRATEGY IS THE REAL STORY OF THE 110TH CONGRESS, REPORT SAYS

Toby Chaudhuri — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON – Republicans in Congress, working in concert with the White House, organized a deliberate political strategy to sabotage the Democratic majority in Congress as it responded to a mandate to solve major problems facing the nation, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America’s Future. With the American public registering overwhelming disapproval of the job Congress is doing, the facts in today’s report show that Republicans are to blame.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage said that the reputation of the Congress would be very different had the Republican minority and President Bush not orchestrated a systematic campaign of obstruction to bottle up any progress.

“Now this is sort of like knee-capping the postman and then complaining that the mail is late,” said Borosage. “As Republicans posture about the do-nothing Congress, it's worth remembering that much would have gotten done had they not been in the way.”

The report shows that the Republican strategy forced a record number of cloture votes — 94 so far — that require a super-majority of sixty votes to end filibusters. This was reinforced by more than 119 veto threats by President Bush, essentially repealing majority rule. Never before has an ideological minority obstructed so many important measures from becoming law.

If Republicans had not adopted this strategy, majorities in both the House and the Senate favored passage of the following:

--WAR IN IRAQ: Setting a date certain to bring the occupation of Iraq to an end, freeing up the $12 billion a month in direct costs (almost a half-billion dollars a day) for vital needs here at home, and insuring that soldiers are guaranteed adequate rest and recovery between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan;

--ENERGY: Investing billions in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, creating green-collar jobs, and paying for it by repealing subsidies for oil companies already pocketing the greatest profits in recorded history;

--HEALTH CARE: Providing health care for millions of children of working and poor families, giving them with a chance for a healthy start to life, and saving seniors tens of billions of dollars in prescription drug prices by empowering Medicare to negotiate bulk purchase discounts.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the report is available at www.ourfuture.org/obstruction.**

State of the Union 2008

Toby Chaudhuri — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:22:00 -0800

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to address problems in the nation’s economy while hailing the state of the union as strong tonight, but for Americans worrying about how to make ends meet, the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to numbers compiled today by the Campaign for America’s Future.

ON INCOMES:

-- Median household income in 2000 (inflation-adjusted): $49,158
-- Median household income in 2006: $48,201
-- 8-year increase in median household income in 2001: $6,000
-- 6-year decrease in median household income in 2007: $1,100
[U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 - 2007]

-- Salary of a full-time minimum wage employee without vacation: $12,168
-- Average salary of a CEO of one of America’s top 500 companies: $15.2 million
[Forbes Magazine, May 3, 2007]

-- Number of Americans living in poverty in 2001: 31.6 million
-- Number of Americans living in poverty in 2008: 36.5 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Amount more Americans earned than spent in 2001: +2.3 percent
-- Amount less Americans are earning than spending in 2008: -0.5 percent
[Bureau of Economic Analysis]

-- Total consumer credit debt in 2001: $7.65 trillion
-- Total consumer credit debt in 2008: $12.8 trillion
[Insurance Information Institute]

-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in White American households: $745
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in African American households: $2,766
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in Hispanic American households: $1,043
-- Decrease in median income from 2000-2006 in Asian American households: $1,381
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

-- Median income of African American households in 2006: $31,969
-- Median income of Hispanic American households in 2006: $37,781
-- Median income of White American households in 2006: $50,673
-- Median income of Asian American households in 2006: $63,900
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

-- African Americans living in poverty in 2006: 24.3 percent
-- Hispanic Americans living in poverty in 2006: 20.6 percent
-- Asian Americans living in poverty in 2006: 10.1 percent
-- White Americans living in poverty in 2006: 8.2 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau. Aug. 2007]

ON HOUSING:

-- Percentage increase in home foreclosures in the last year: 68
[RealtyTrac. Dec. 19, 2007]

ON JOBS:

-- Total number of American manufacturing jobs in 2000: 17,263,000
-- Total number of American manufacturing jobs in 2006: 14,197,000
-- Number of American manufacturing jobs lost between 2000 and 2006: 3,066,000
[Bureau of Labor Statistics]

-- Yearly average number of new private sector jobs created from 1992-2000: 1.76 million
-- Yearly average number of new private sector jobs created from 2001-2008: 369,000
[Bureau of Labor Statistics]

-- Jobless African American workers in Dec. 2007: 9.0 percent
-- Jobless Hispanic American workers in Dec. 2007: 6.3 percent
-- Jobless White American workers in Dec. 2007: 4.4 percent
-- Jobless Asian American workers in Dec. 2007: 3.7 percent
[U.S. Department of Labor Employment Situation Summary, Jan. 4, 2008]

ON ENERGY:

-- Average price of a gallon of home heating oil in Jan. 2000: $1.40
-- Average price of a gallon of home heating oil in Jan. 2008: $3.39
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Average price of a gallon of gas in Jan. 2000: $1.59
-- Average price of a gallon of gas in Jan. 2008: $3.14
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Increase in the average price of home heating oil since Jan. 2000: +142 percent
-- Increase in the average price of gas since Jan. 2000: +98 percent

-- Price of a gallon of home heating oil in the winter of 2001-2002 (inflation adjusted): $1.36
-- Projected price of a gallon of home heating oil in the winter of 2007-2008: $3.32
[Energy Administration, Jan. 2008]

-- Amount of U.S. liquid fuel consumption that was imported in 2001: 52.75 percent
-- Amount of U.S. liquid fuel consumption that is imported in 2008: 60.38 percent
[U.S. Energy Information Administration]

-- Exxon Mobil profits in 2000: $7.9 billion
-- Exxon Mobil profits in 2006: $36.1 billion
-- Exxon Mobil’s profit per second during the second quarter of 2006: $1,318
[CNNMoney.com, July 27, 2006; Fortune500 2006]

ON HEALTHCARE:

-- Americans without health insurance in 2000: 38.4 million
-- Americans without health insurance in 2006: 46.9 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Decrease over 2 years in the number of uninsured Americans in 2001: 4.5 million
-- Increase over 6 years in the number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 8.5 million
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Number of children without health insurance: 8.7 million
-- Number of times President Bush vetoed additional health insurance for children: 2
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Americans receiving employment-based health insurance in 2000: 64.2 percent
-- Americans receiving employment-based health insurance in 2006: 59.7 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

-- Annual cost of family health insurance premiums in 2000 (inflation adjusted): $7,643
-- Annual cost of family health insurance premiums in 2006: $11,480
[Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust]

-- Uninsured White Americans in 2006: 10.8 percent
-- Uninsured African Americans in 2006: 20.5 percent
-- Uninsured Asians Americans in 2006: 15.5 percent
-- Uninsured Hispanic Americans in 2006: 34.1 percent
[U.S. Census Bureau, Aug. 2007]

ON COLLEGE COSTS:

-- Average cost per year at a public four-year college in 2000: $10,153
-- Average cost per year at a public four-year college in 2006: $13,089
[CollegeBoard, 2007]

-- Average yearly change in tuition costs for public four-year college since 2000: +29 percent
-- Average percent change in median household income during same period: -2 percent
-- Average debt shouldered by 2006 college graduates: $21,000
[The Project on Student Debt, Sept. 2007]

ON IRAQ AND THE MILITARY:

-- Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq before the “Mission Accomplished” speech in 2003: 139
-- Number of US troops killed in Iraq as of Jan. 2008: 3,907
-- Number of Iraqi deaths after U.S. invasion: 1,139,602
[iCasualties.org., Jan. 3, 2008]

-- Number of US troops wounded in Iraq before the “Mission Accomplished” speech: 542
-- Number of U.S. troops wounded in Iraq as of Jan. 2008: 28,661
[iCasualties.org, Jan. 3, 2008]

-- Amount of total world military spending spent by U.S.: 47 percent
[Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation]

-- Total U.S. military expenditures requested for 2008: $644 billion
-- Total military expenditures of the 10 next top spending countries combined: $446.1 billion
[Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Includes China, Russia, U.K., France, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India and Brazil, Feb. 5, 2007]

-- U.S. military base budget in 2001: $297.1 billion
-- US pending military base budget 2008, not including Iraq and Afghanistan: $481.4 billion
[White House Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 5, 2007]

-- U.S. budget spent on military not including Iraq in 2007: 50 percent
-- U.S. budget spent on education in 2007: 6.2 percent
[White House Office of Management and Budget, Feb. 6, 2006.]

-- Number of active duty army divisions rated at the highest readiness levels in 2001: All
-- Number of active duty or reserve brigade in the U.S. considered fully combat ready: 0
[Speaker of the House, Nov. 29, 2007]

ON DEBTS AND DEFICITS:

-- The national debt in 2001: $5.7 trillion
-- The national debt in Jan. 2008: $9.2 trillion
[U.S. Dept. of the Treasury]

-- Monthly U.S. trade deficit in Oct. 2000: $33.8 billion
-- Monthly U.S. trade deficit in Oct. 2007: $57.8 billion
-- U.S. trade deficit in 2000: $380 billion
-- U.S. trade deficit in 2007: $759 billion
[U.S. Census Bureau, Dec. 12, 2007]

-- Value of one Euro in Jan. 2000: $1.01
-- Value of one Euro in Jan. 2008: $1.45
-- Loss of value of the Dollar relative to the Euro from Jan. 2000 to Jan. 2008: 45 percent
[Federal Reserve Statistical Release]

-- Value of an ounce of gold in 2000 (inflation adjusted): $319
-- Value of an ounce of gold in 2008: $892
[GoldPrice.org, Jan. 22 2008]

-- U.S. budget surplus in 2000: +$236 billion
-- U.S. budget deficit in 2007: -$354 billion
[House Office of Management and Budget]

ON PRODUCT AND FOOD SAFETY:

-- Increase in consumer product safety spending from 2000 to 2006: 9 percent
-- Increase in number of U.S. imports from 2000 to 2006: 30 percent
[Consumer Federation of America]

-- Increase in the number of federal food inspections from 2000 to 2006: 8 percent
-- Percentage increase in number of agricultural imports from 2000 to 2006: 39 percent
-- Number of cases of food borne disease outbreaks in 2006: 25,659
[U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control]

ON WORLD OPINION:

-- Number of people abroad who viewed America favorably in 2001: 58.3 percent
-- Number of people abroad who viewed America favorably in 2007: 39.2 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Great Britain who viewed America favorably in 2001: 83 percent
-- Number of people in Great Britain who viewed America favorably in 2007: 56 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Indonesia who viewed America favorably in 2001: 75 percent
-- Number of people in Indonesia who viewed America favorably in 2007: 30 percent
[Pew Research Center]

-- Number of people in Germany who viewed America favorably in 2001: 78 percent
-- Number of people in Germany who viewed America favorably in 2007: 37 percent
[Pew Research Center]

Leaders Call For Truman-style Commission To Investigate Contract Abuse In Iraq

Toby Chaudhuri — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 21:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON – Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., joined filmmaker Robert Greenwald today calling for a Truman-style commission to investigate the gross misuse of government funds spent by contractors in Iraq. Sen. Dorgan and Greenwald participated in a news conference on Capitol Hill this morning, where they also released a new report by the Campaign for America’s Future that provides an overview of the profiteering and mismanagement in Iraq.

The report traces a litany of abuses back to the disdain for the mission of nation-building and the cronyism that is the hallmark of the conservatives that dominate our government. The report details votes made in Congress where measures designed to put in place accountability or oversight were rejected by the Republican majority. The report will also be featured at thousands of house parties across the country next month, where participants will view Greenwald’s new film “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers” and demand that Congress act to establish accountability.

“The federal government has outsourced core government responsibilities in Iraq at the expense of the lives of soldiers and civilians,” said Campaign for America’s Future co-director Robert Borosage. “The conservative ideology of shrinking fundamental government responsibilities and outsourcing them to corporate cronies has reached unprecedented proportions in Iraq. Corporations are cashing in on the crisis, often with tragic consequences. Worse, both the administration and the Congress have simply failed to enforce basic accountability.”

The report documents six notorious companies that spent a combined $3,228,665 on campaign contributions and $7,490,000 on lobbying since the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001. Halliburton and Titan Corp. gave 89 percent of their campaign contributions to Republicans and only 11 percent to Democrats.

Halliburton has come under special scrutiny because Vice President Cheney was their CEO and still owns stock options in the company. Halliburton dispatched drivers with empty trucks because it was paid by the trip. Titan Corp. and CACI provided translators and interrogators implicated in abuses at Abu Ghraib. Blackwater sent men in understaffed, unarmored vehicles in violation of a contract to a massacre in Fallujah. Becthel failed to complete the construction of a children’s hospital in Basra it was paid $50 million to build.

Later in the day, the Democratic Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Dorgan, convened a hearing featuring Halliburton whistleblowers describing how Halliburton’s own employees took items intended to go to the troops. Witnesses provided new details of the “Good Friday Massacre” in which Halliburton supervisors sent unarmed American civilians to drive through a combat zone, resulting in the death of six truck drivers and two soldiers.

At 7:15 p.m. tonight the Campaign for America’s Future will host the capital premiere of Greenwald’s new film “Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers” at the Woolly Mammoth Theater. The movie explores the stories of civilians and soldiers in Iraq who have been endangered and killed due to grave mismanagement by contractors.

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**NOTE: An electronic copy of the report is available at www.ourfuture.org. Media representatives interested in attending the Washington premiere of the movie should reserve tickets by contacting Anne Thompson at athompson@ourfuture.org.**