In general, the right wing think tank industry was founded for political reasons not serious research reasons. Moreover, it's important to many if not all of them to mask that origin and intent. So they present themselves as doing research uncomplicated by political aims when, in fact, the whole point of the money they are given is to favor certain political ends. And then they make the mistake of building research agendas to support political agendas. That's why their work is rarely taken seriously by serious social scientists.

I know you think this is also true of the Dems. And, no doubt, one could find a Dem think tank that does this. But it's generally not the case. As I typed before, the classic example is the Brookings Institution, though there are others that don't leap to mind right now. I disagree with some of their political positions and some of the conclusions they draw from their research but we recognize that the work is not simply professional but highly professional.