Overview: The Moderate Power Project

Building dynamic infrastructure to challenge far-left extremism and champion the vital center

Modern American politics is a battle of extremes. MAGA and the hyper-conservative new right have vanquished party centrists and control the GOP. On the left, radical voices wield an outsized megaphone, polluting the Democratic brand and obstructing the party from becoming the viable, mainstream alternative to right-wing populism that our country urgently needs.

Third Way launched the Moderate Power Project (MPP) to restore mainstream ideals and practical policymaking to the heart of our political ideology. MPP is a bold initiative to build sophisticated, sustainable infrastructure on the center left that champions moderate views and voices and challenges far-left extremism upstream of elections, where key battles over ideological values and direction are decided.

MPP is structured for impact. Each of the five interconnected programs within MPP, listed below, meets a critical need in the greater center-left ecosystem.

1. Communications Center: To raise the salience, stickiness, and reach of moderate ideas and viewpoints throughout traditional and new media;
2. Venture Fund: To grant seed funding to entrepreneurial projects that fill key gaps in the center-left ecosystem;
3. Talent Pipeline: To recruit and place moderate staffers in congressional offices, Democratic administrations, government affairs positions, nonprofits, and on campaigns;
4. Leadership Academy: To provide critical training and mentorship to the next generation of center-left electeds, staff, advocates, and movement leaders; and
5. Data Hub: To produce and market persuasive qualitative and quantitative public opinion research and statistical analysis to advocates, leaders, strategists and the media.

Collectively, these programs power a dynamic advocacy machine that promotes moderate values across a wide array of venues, including Democratic administrations, Hill offices, campaigns, college campuses, nonprofits, corporate suites, traditional and social media platforms, and state and local communities, among others.

The moment is now. We must act boldly and urgently to empower the vital center in order to prevent the far left from doing irreparable damage to the Democratic party brand, empower and sustain mainstream policy progress, and protect our democracy from decades of control by the populist radical right. The battle for the middle is not just about winning elections; it is about shaping the long-term trajectory of American politics. To drive our country in a new direction, we must invest in building a robust, adaptable, durable institutional foundation for moderate power.

Contact

Jennifer Goforth, Senior Director of Individual Giving
[email protected]

Rachel Fersh, Senior Advisor to MPP
[email protected]