Group seeks to pull left together

Craig Gilbert reports in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on One Wisconsin Now.

The planning and strategizing in Wisconsin began in 2005 under the name of the Blueprint project. It brought together more than 100 organizers and activists from labor and liberal advocacy groups in the state, and it was partly funded by a liberal foundation based in Massachusetts, the Proteus Fund, which has put money into a similar effort in Maine.

Among other Proteus projects are the Civil Marriage Collaborative and the Colombe Foundation. The latter works for "a shift from wasteful military spending to investments in programs addressing poverty, environmental degradation and other root causes of violence."

The new organization is really three affiliated groups that are distinct for legal reasons: one a tax-exempt policy research institute; one an advocacy group; and one a "527" political group that would spend money on ads and other election work.

Its discussion board is, without apparent irony, called the Echo Chamber.