Paul Ryan's Budget Becomes Bogeyman Uniting Progressives, Democrats

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/25/paul-ryans-budget-angry-democrats-town-halls_n_853553.html

The Republican Party’s endorsement of sharply conservative prescriptions to fix ailing state and federal budgets is threatening to reunite the progressive movement and heal its disillusionment with the Democratic Party.

Over the past week, an informal coalition of non-government groups has plotted ways to make town halls increasingly uncomfortable for Republican lawmakers -- a coordination that is more advanced then previously reported.

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“I think the broader picture here is that there has been more cooperation across the organized progressive movement in the last three months than (anytime) since the 2004 election -- maybe the Social Security fight,” said Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org.

“The unwritten story here is there is more energy and activity on the progressive side," he told HuffPost. "There is more happening now then probably since the Iraq war…. Lots of people who have never done anything before who are coming out.”