Virtually Speaking  

Smith was a journalist for the Houston Chronicle from 1979 to 1985 and the Houston Post from 1985 to 1988. He covered state and national political affairs before leaving journalism to work for then-Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby in early 1988. He subsequently worked for the late U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and managed Ann Richards' 1990 primary victory in her successful campaign for Governor of Texas. Throughout the 1990s Smith designed public affairs campaigns for a variety of state and national clients. A managing director of Public Strategies, Inc., he wrote and produced award-winning communications for broadcast and direct mail, and designed communications strategies for business, universities, activist groups, and progressive candidates. Smith left Public Strategies in 2001 to devote his efforts to writing and helping progressive causes around the country. In 2003 Smith managed MoveOn.org's campaign against Tom DeLay's mid-decade congressional redistricting. In 2004 he founded DriveDemocracy.org an online activist organization that promotes citizen involvement in public affairs. That year Smith also founded Texans for Truth, a 527 organization that promoted fair, open elections and raised questions about George W. Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War. In 2005 helped launch the Texas Progress Council as part of an effort to rebuild progressive support infrastructure. Smith is the author of The Politics of Deceit (2004) and Unfit Commander (2004). He is director of the Texas Progress Council, a progressive think tank in Austin.