David Sirota

David J. Sirota (b. 1975 in New Haven, Connecticut), grew up in a wealthy suburb near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before enrolling in Northwestern University, where he majored in journalism and Political Science. He is a well-known left-wing American blogger and writer, and is the co-chair of the Progressive Legislative Action Network. He was formerly a fellow at the Center for American Progress and was the creator of the organization's Progress Report which the National Review deemed "the most aggressive, most energetic opposition research in politics." He is a fierce critic of what he considers to be neoliberal economic policies, and has leveled frequent criticism at both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. He is well respected for his ideological consistency as opposed to partisan loyalties. He previously worked as spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee. He is currently living in Helena, Montana after serving as a senior strategist for Brian Schweitzer's unsuccessful 2000 Senate campaign, and successful 2004 gubernatorial campaign. Sirota recently completed a book entitled "Hostile Takeover", which argues that corporate interests are driving U.S. economic policy. The book is scheduled to be released in the May 2006.

Since May 2005 he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post, which is in addition to his own blog (which is published in parallel at Working for Change). He is a also a regular guest on The Al Franken Show, appearing by phone from Montana every Tuesday and Thursday. He is senior editor at the Democratic-Socialist newsmagazine In These Times, writes a regular column for the liberal The Nation, and has in the past occasionally contributed to The American Prospect. He has also been published in the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle, and has been profiled favorably in Newsweek.

He has elicited controversy from fellow liberal bloggers for his incessant criticism of the centrist DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) and other "centrist" Democrats, whom he claims are corrupt and have sold out to corporate interests. In addition, he has argued that the term "centrist" is a misnomer in that these politicians are out of touch with public opinion. Other popular liberal bloggers such as Matt Yglasias and Ezra Klein have defended the DLC and disagreed with Sirota's arguments.

Sirota has also drawn criticism for his harsh anti-beltway rhetoric in light of his heavy involvement in DC politics at CAP, his relatively recent migration to Montana as well as his own privileged background. Sirota's article "the Democrat's Da Vinci Code" has likewise been subject to a great deal of controversy - generating much praise from populist political candidates and criticism from Washington political players.

Both liberal and conservative bloggers have criticized Sirota for his heterodox economic views, particularly his opposition to free trade in favor of what he terms "fair trade", claiming his background is in journalism, not economics.

Sirota is an active supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (who considers himself a democratic socialist), populist Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. His support of Brown over Paul Hackett for the 2006 Ohio Senate race sparked a great deal of anger from parts of the left blogosphere, with many feeling Sirota intentionally misrepresented Hackett's positions.

Sirota was involved in an ethics scandal in 1999 when he worked for Philadelphia mayoral candidate Dwight Evans. It was discovered that Sirota was friends with the publisher of a misleading website, which claimed to be published by Evan's opponent. Specifically because of this dirty tricks campaign, Sirota was fired by Evans, although newspapers there was no evidence that despite his relationship with the website's creator, Sirota himself did not have anything to do with the website. Evans ended up losing the race in part due to the scandal. Sirota's frequent criticism of the ethical shortcomings of politicians is consequentely viewed by many as hypocritical in light of his own checkered past. [1].

External links

• Sirotablog, Sirota's weblog
• Newsweek, profile of Sirota