• Politically oriented think tank dedicated to studying changes in voter demographics and the technologies by which potential voters may be contacted and influenced  
• Instructs progressive political figures in the effective use of blogs, Internet advertising, and cell phones to engage their constituencies

Established in May of 2005, the New Politics Institute (NPI) describes itself as a "new kind of think tank," one that "will assemble some of the finest minds in progressive politics, the non-profit world and the private sector to study, master, incubate and promote new strategies, technologies and techniques for the rapidly changing politics of this new century." NPI periodically issues written reports that "explore how different technologies or media or demographic groups are changing the way politics is conducted."

NPI's "Tools Campaign" is designed to teach leftist political candidates how to tailor their message and allocate their electioneering dollars for maximum effect. For instance, this Campaign advises office-seekers to: 

(a) Purchase cable air time rather than broadcast television for commercials.

(b) "Engage the Blogs"; i.e., use web-logs as a way to reach out to voters. Said a 2006 NPI report: "Still got that dirt on your opponent that nobody knows? It's useless if you don't get it out to the people who make news. You probably have something a local blogger could use, but you'll never know if you don't get that info out of its manila folder and on to the web. ... Feed it to the bloggers. Short stories that are personalized have the best chance at being posted. If the blogs cover it, then go to the more traditional news outlets, and press them to cover the story as well."

(c) Buy banner and web search ads to target Internet users.

(d) "Speak in Spanish" to reach a "critical new constituency." Says NPI: "Anyone who thinks strategically about the future has to take into account Hispanics because they are poised for inexorable growth in the future -- far more than the Anglo population, which is aging. ... Any majority political movement will have to include a large percentage of this growing constituency in its coalition."

The New Politics Institute is affiliated with the Hispanic Strategy Center, a research and advocacy organization that works with groups like NPI "to develop their own efforts to reach and involve the fast-growing Hispanic population." A project of the NIP affiliate New Democracy Network, the Hispanic Strategy Center supports blanket amnesty for all illegal aliens residing in the United States.

In its report "Mobile Media in 21st Century Politics," NPI touts the use of cell phones as a conduit through which political activists and campaign workers can effectively reach potential voters. According to the report, some 800,000 fans of the popular music band U2 sent, at the request of lead singer Bono, text messages asking their friends and acquaintances to sign a petition demanding increased U.S. government funding for AIDS-prevention programs in Africa. In NPI's calculus, if 1 million people would each devote a mere 10 minutes of their time to such "mobile [phone] action" during a presidential campaign, their aggregate efforts would amount to some 83 "person years" of labor. "It's all about putting everybody to work," says the report. "It's about decentralized activism." NPI also foresees ringtones and video games being used to deliver a progressive message to voters in the future.

NPI was co-founded by: (a) Gina Glantz, a founding member of America Coming Together and former assistant to the President of the Service Employees International Union; (b) Cecile Richards, current President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and former President of America Votes; and (c) Simon Rosenberg, current President of the New Democratic Network, a "21st Century Progressive Advocacy and Political Organization." Rosenberg worked on the presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis (1987-88) and Bill Clinton (1991-92). He also served on the 2004 Democratic National Convention Platform Committee, and was a candidate for Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2005, a position that eventually went to Howard Dean.

The Director of NPI is Peter Leyden, a Developer at Global Business Network, a strategic business consultancy located in San Francisco. Leyden was an editor at Wired magazine and has co-authored two-books: What's Next? Exploring the New Terrain for Business (2002), and The Long Boom (1999).

NPI identifies Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos weblog, as one of its "network members" -- along with former National Public Radio producer Jennifer Mix; Joe Trippi, National Campaign Manager for Howard Dean's presidential run in 2004; Julie Bergman Sender, former President of the Los Angeles-based chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America and a current Board member of the Southern California ACLU Foundation; and Tim Chambers, co-founder of Media 50 Group, whose objective is to help "political practitioners understand and master new media." 

NPI's initial funding was provided by Andy and Deborah Rappaport, venture capitalists and philanthropists for leftist causes. The Service Employees International Union has also been cited as "a major partner in the [NPI] start-up phase." Today NPI operates on an annual budget of $1.5 million to $2 million. 

NPI disseminates its research and political message via public events and talks that it sponsors periodically in Washington, D.C., and in the official reports that it posts on its website.