Rebuild the Dream, a grassroots campaign led by former White House green jobs adviser Van Jones, Justin Reuben, president of MoveOn.org, and others have unveiled a new “Contract for the American Dream.” It is part of an effort by progressive groups to gain greater control over the political narrative that they contend has been taken over by the Tea Party movement and other far-right conservatives.

“To produce this Contract for the American Dream, 131,203 Americans came together online and in their communities. We wrote and rated 25,904 ideas. Together, we identified the 10 most critical steps to get our economy back on track and restore the American Dream,” the group says.

The premise of the contract, which will appear in a New York Times ad this week, is that America isn’t as broke as House Republicans have repeatedly claimed, but instead lacks a focus on jobs and economic growth. According to Rebuild the Dream organizers, the country has a “jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis.” The contract calls for greater investment in infrastructure, 21st century energy jobs, education and health care, including offering Medicare to every American, and an end to the two costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The progressive group is asking supporters to take the contract to congressional lawmakers during the August recess and "demand jobs, not cuts." It also plans to convene a national conference in Washington, D.C., in October.

“Every one of us—rich, poor, or in-between, regardless of skin color or birthplace, no matter their sexual orientation or gender—has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the contract's preamble reads. “That is our covenant, our compact, our contract with one another. It is a promise we can fulfill—but only by working together.”

(Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images)