On behalf of the Agenda Project’s Board of Directors, I am delighted to announce that Erik Altieri has been unanimously chosen as the organization’s next president. Mr. Altieri, who currently serves as the Agenda Project’s Director of Communications will succeed me, Erica Payne, the organization’s founder and current president. I will continue to serve as an advisor to the group and as a member of the Board of Directors.
Erik is an incredible talent and we could not be more excited about his leadership. Erik combines a powerful acumen for technology and social media with an astute understanding of the legislative process. These skills are bolstered by a keen intellect, a deep understanding of political philosophy and public policy, and a profound commitment to social justice. We are so lucky to have him.
Erik joined the Agenda Project several months ago after a 7 year stint as Communications Director, PAC Manager, and Lobbyist for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Recognizing that marijuana prohibition was and is a central component of a corrupt criminal justice system, Erik worked diligently for years to end the arrests of otherwise law abiding Americans for simple marijuana possession and to roll back the disastrous “War on Marijuana” which has done little other than perpetuate our country’s addiction to mass incarceration.
During his tenure at NORML, Erik worked closely with both state and federal lawmakers, assisted in the drafting of numerous pieces of original state and federal legislation, and organized national grassroots advocacy efforts. He also founded and managed NORML’s social media outreach, which grew from an audience of just a few thousand to over 1.5 million. As the organization’s chief lobbyist he advocated for reform measures at the state and federal level and sat on the first ever Congressional Working Group that focused on marijuana law reform. On the electoral side, he was the chief manager of NORML’s PAC, deciding who the group was to endorse, setting the media strategy to leverage the endorsement, maintaining relationships, and distributing contributions to candidates. He is also a seasoned media professional, having been quoted in countless major outlets such as CBS News, Politico, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The New York Times, NBC News, and many more.
Erik brings his proven track record of success to the Agenda Project at a critical moment in the organization’s history.
Erik Altieri (far left) on The Big Picture With Thom Hartmann
Since our founding five years ago, the Agenda Project has fearlessly defended our most essential American values from both right-wing extremists and ineffectual Democrats. Our very first campaign, “F*ck Tea,” attacked the neo-fascist Tea Party movement in its infancy. Our second campaign, “Hate Begets Hate,” confronted Islamophobia and the attack on our constitutional right to worship head on, challenging both Democrats and Republicans on the Park51 Islamic community center issue. Those early campaigns paved the way for our work protecting the dignity of America’s elderly against GOP efforts to privatize Medicare through our famous Granny Off the Cliff campaign. We exposed the deadly results of indiscriminate GOP budget cuts with our Republican Cuts Kill series which connected GOP budget cuts at the Center for Disease Control and Amtrak to the Ebola crisis and the deadly Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia. Most recently, we hammered conservatives for using taxpayer dollars for political purposes through our video “Stop the New McCarthyism.”
Our goal has always been - and will continue to be - to expose the truth behind the right-wing’s facade of family values and fiscal conservatism. Over the next five years, the Agenda Project seeks no less than a wholesale rejection of conservative principles and a complete decimation of conservative political power. To succeed, we will need to build a much bigger platform for our work and for the critical work of key allies in the progressive movement. Erik is the perfect person to guide our expansion and his leadership comes at a pivotal time.
At no point in recent history has the need for the Agenda Project’s guerrilla tactics been more necessary. We are proud that Rand Paul’s spokesperson called us a “group of progressive political hitmen” - the Right has certainly provided us a target rich environment.
In an embarrassing (even for politics) display of insincerity, establishment conservatives are attempting to publicly distance themselves from the unabashed bigotry of GOP front-runner Donald Trump. But the truth is that Donald Trump’s appeal to the American Id was lifted directly from the GOP playbook. His rhetoric is nothing more than the logical next hand to play in a game of political poker that began decades ago in the months after Barry Goldwater’s defeat in 1964. Since that time, a small cadre of far-right conservatives have built a network of institutions that today serve as the intellectual and communications backbone of the modern GOP. Radicalized and dangerous, these extremists worked for decades to bring their fringe ideas to the mainstream. Along the way, they sowed the seeds of hate and prejudice far and wide. Donald Trump did not create the standing room only crowds applauding Muslim databases and a rejection of Muslim immigrants. He did not create the angry white nationalists cheering the deportment of 13 million people. He is merely playing the hand that will win the game and is doing so more obviously and more skillfully than other GOP politicians whose policies are equally as base and inhumane.
Barry Goldwater once said, “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Donald Trump is the face of this extremism, but its root began decades ago.
From our founding five years ago, we have relentlessly exposed the conservative movement and the GOP for what it is, a neo-fascist, modern segregationist, white supremacist, nativist, misogynistic, and homophobic political party fueled by hate, prejudice, and billions of dollars. It is imperative that decent Americans understand the threat the “new GOP” presents to their values, Erik is the ideal person to carry this critical work forward.
Since Erik joined the organization, he has proven to be a truly gifted leader and an excellent creative partner. I am thrilled to move him into this expanded role.
While I will continue to serve on the board of the Agenda Project, I will now turn my full time attention to a project that over the last few years has restored my hope in people and in the possible. The Patriotic Millionaires are a group of 200 high-net worth individuals who are dedicated to building a more inclusive and prosperous nation. Unlike their right-wing counterparts, these incredible folks are demanding less political power for millionaires and more power for regular Americans. They are demanding higher taxes on millionaires like themselves and corporations and they are dedicated to making sure that every single American who works full time is able to afford their basic needs.
This simple yet very powerful set of basic values are shared by a bipartisan majority of Americans. I have had the great pleasure of advising this incredible group since their inception five years ago and am delighted to begin focusing on their efforts full-time.
The birth of my daughter six months ago helped me to see how critical it is that we come together on those issues on which we can all agree. Most Americans believe the very wealthy should pay more in taxes and they know that work must be rewarded with dignity and self-reliance. Most importantly, they believe, as our founders did, that all individuals are created equal and that they deserve equal power to shape their own destiny.
I look forward to working with you in my new role and hope you will do everything you can to support the critical efforts of Erik and the Agenda Project.
Make sure to follow the Agenda Project on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest on our upcoming efforts.
Together we can make a much brighter, safer, and more joyful world for our children.
Warmly,
Erica Payne
Founder, Agenda Project
