“The work of the Drum Major Institute needs to become a more urgent priority for our nation.” — President William Jefferson Clinton
“It is organizations like DMI that…change the mindset that keeps us mired in mediocrity.” — Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Councilwoman
“What this organization is reminding us is…to build the great American middle class.” — Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator (D – Rhode Island)
“My only fear is that we’ll call on DMI so much that they’ll change their phone number.” — Hon. Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council
“I have great admiration for the Institute and… the materials you send find an important place on my shelves.” — Bill Moyers
“I used the statistics and some of the work being done by the Institute to talk about…the main reason I was running for Congress.” — Rep. Tim Walz, U.S. Congressman (D – Minnesota)
“The thing that I admire most in their [DMI’s] work is the emphasis on research and analysis, on voting records, on what policies work and what don’t, on the empirical logic behind why a policy is rational or why it’s irrational or why it’s doing damage or why it’s not doing damage.” — David Simon, Creator and producer of The Wire
“To this day, the best set of principles I’ve read for dealing with immigration is the Drum Major Institute’s middle class framework.” — Ezra Klein, The American Prospect
“There are very few places… where we actually honor dialogue, debate, discussion, and challenging orthodoxy…. So, I want to thank DMI for being one of the places that allows us to have these kinds of conversations.” — Andy Stern, Service Employees International Union
“We need groups like DMI that take the long view: to help make our candidates smarter, our policymakers more effective, our electorate more informed, and our agenda more resonant.” — Arianna Huffington
“DMI is a new progressive superstar. We want lawmakers to have DMI’s work in hand as they make public policy.” — Nancy Scola, MyDD.com
“The world would be a better place if DMI got more money!” — Ari Berman, The Nation
“Who DMI is [can be embodied] in terms of its staff, the diversity of its staff, the youth of its staff, the creativity and aggressiveness of its work, the DMI Scholars program creating a training ground for new future leaders coming forward. All of that is the work that needs to take place, and I think it is the work that Dr. King would want to see moving forward.” — Steve Phillips, PowerPAC.org
“I would like to thank the Drum Major Institute…for their commitment to helping underprivileged youth, like myself, enter the field of public policy.” — Samantha Contreras, DMI Scholar
“Change to Win labor coalition members will be using the Drum Major Institute scorecard…to determine who is with working Americans when it counts, and who isn’t.” — Anna Burger, Change to Win Federation
“Now, it’s time to use that power to help change policy for the good of our society—and DMI is perfectly positioned to do just that.” — Tom Watson, Journalist, DMI Board Member
“DMI does an excellent job of communicating vital information about policy and lawmakers.” — Dan Cantor, Working Families Party
“Like ARC, DMI is one of the few think tanks that appreciates the need to connect policy work with on-the-ground-organizing. DMI and ARC advance a mutual agenda—progressive public policy for social and economic fairness, albeit from two different but very important lenses.” — Rinku Sen, Applied Research Center
“DMI consciously cultivates an environment where liberal leaders, Democratic electeds and progressive thinkers can — and do — challenge each other.” — Justin Krebs, Living Liberally
“2/3 of the time that I find out something new and insane and that society should know about, it’s coming from someone at DMI… I’ve been seriously blown away by the quality of work you guys do.” — Matt Singer, Forward Montana
“It’s wonderful that DMI is taking names and keeping score of which politicians are fighting on behalf of working families– and which ones are selling them out.” — Nathan Newman, Progressive States Network
“The Drum Major Institute is the rare New York outfit to have wrestled with what a revamped progressive agenda might look like.” — Chris Smith, Reporter, New York Magazine