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What Is PDA?

Progressive Democrats of America was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and our country. We seek to build a party and government controlled by citizens, not corporate elites -- with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just private interests. As a grassroots PAC operating inside the Democratic Party, and outside in movements for peace and justice, PDA played a key role in the stunning electoral victory of November 2006. Our inside/outside strategy is guided by the belief that a lasting majority will require a revitalized Democratic Party built on firm progressive principles.

For over two decades, the party declined as its leadership listened more to the voices of Wall Street than those of Main Street. PDA strives to rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up – from every Congressional District to statewide party structures to the corridors of power in Washington, where we work arm in arm with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In just a couple of years, PDA and its allies have shaken up the political status quo – on issues from the Iraq war to voter rights to economic justice.

Please join us. (You will receive emails about PDA activities). Click HERE to sign up today!

What People Say About Progressive Democrats of America

"PDA is the real thing. The organizers of PDA are smart, tenacious, and committed. PDA stood by my side when we battled the corrupt vote count in Ohio, when we held our hearing on the lies exposed in the Downing Street Minutes, and every single day as we keep our eyes on the prize of ending this war in Iraq."

-- Rep. John Conyers

"PDA gets the job done. Their commitment to promoting progressive values has brought results at the local and national level. PDA organized grassroots support for my resolution calling for American troops to be brought home from Iraq, and presented me with a petition that I delivered to the White House of over 20,000 signatures. Every day that I am on Capitol Hill fighting for economic justice, environmental protections, and a more peaceful and secure world, I know that PDA is right there with me."

-- Rep. Lynn Woolsey

"PDA is attempting to represent the new generation of reformers. The Democratic Party will only 'listen' when the challenge of PDA and progressive reformers is powerful enough."

-- Tom Hayden, anti-war leader, former Calif. State Senator

"PDA is focused on getting out a progressive message, even while the Democrats seem to be going in the opposite direction. Diverse, inclusive, strategic — thank goodness for PDA!"

-- Kim Gandy, President, National Organization for Women (NOW)

"Hopeful, progressive, reformist, coalition builders, committed and active--that's the message of PDA and they're setting the pace for all other Democrats. Keep up the good work. You're absolutely necessary."

-- Rep. Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

"PDA's effort to reach out and build coalitions is the cornerstone to returning the Democratic Party back to the people."

-- Rep. Raul Grijalva

"While the Hip Hop community is skeptical of the left movement because of its lack of base in communities of color, the Progressive Democrats of America's current outreach and willingness to have people of color in its core leadership have shown everyone what it means to have a united front encompassing diverse constituencies."

-- Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., Hip Hop Caucus

"A new group called Progressive Democrats of America is organizing at the grassroots to put the kick back in the Democratic donkey. About time."

-- Jim Hightower, author and commentator

"Devastated by the results of the 2004 election, I was looking for a group that would help unite progressive Democrats with others, like the Greens, to form a 'big tent' for those who believe in social justice and peace. . .PDA has proven to be a creative, dynamic force for everything from electoral reform to ending the war in Iraq. I'm honored to be on the PDA board."

-- Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK, Global Exchange

"PDA is performing an invaluable service to our country and the world by focusing public attention on the deepening crisis in Iraq, and by insisting that the Democratic Party take the lead in bringing a responsible end to the U.S. occupation."

--David Cortright, Win Without War

"PDA is making politics more user-friendly for progressive peace and justice activists. Organized people power can still overturn the minority dominion of money, violence and lies in American politics."

-- Mimi Kennedy, actor

"The strategic activism of Progressive Democrats of America gives me new hope that the Democratic Party and our country can be turned around. Out of the ashes and despair of the 2004 election, PDA has been carrying the torch for progressive activism -- PDA is working hard to establish chapters in every congressional district. I was there when PDA launched in Roxbury, Mass., and I'm spreading the word about PDA everywhere I go."

-- Rep. Barbara Lee

"PDA is the most dynamic progressive organization in the U.S. They are principled, fearless, and proud."

-- Bob Fertik, President, Democrats.com

"PDA is one of the most generous and energetic groups I have ever met. PDA truly understands what it takes to build a community of communities, a movement of movements."

-- Bill Scheurer, PeaceMajority.org

"PDA combines progressive idealism with tough-minded pragmatism. Whether pro-war corporate boosters continue to dominate the Party may depend, in large measure, on whether PDA can keep growing."

-- Norman Solomon, columnist and author of War Made Easy

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Tim Carpenter, National Director, is a social and political activist who, for more than 30 years, has worked for causes such as nuclear disarmament, death penalty abolition, defending the homeless, and campaign finance reform. Tim established Housing Now! and Democrats for Peace Conversion (DPC), co-founded the Orange County chapter of the Alliance for Survival (AFS), and helped organize the Orange County chapter of Families Against Three Strikes (FACTS). He was a national delegate and served in key positions in the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson (1988), Jerry Brown (1992), and Bill Clinton (1996), and spoke from the podium at the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York. Tim was director of the Western Massachusetts Clean Elections movement for public funding of political campaigns, and served as field organizer for Clean Elections' Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Warren Tolman. He also served as Deputy National Campaign Manager for Kucinich for President, was the campaign's state co-coordinator in Massachusetts, and the campaign's Convention Coordinator in Boston. He co-founded AfterDowningStreet.org. In 2006, he was elected as a Massachusetts Democratic Party delegate committed to Deval Patrick. Tim has taught U.S. history and government at the high school and community college levels. He is a product of the California State College system, where he graduated from Cal State University Fullerton with Bachelors Degrees in History and Political Science, as well as a Masters in History. Tim lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife Barbara Considine and their daughters, Sheila and Julia.