What Is A Progressive?

[Exilednight]

I see a lot of use of the word “progressive”. Ironically, not many people truly understand what the word means in regards to describing those of a certain part of the political spectrum.

I participate on one of the largest Democratic public forums on the internet. On that forum there are many Obama supporters who have the belief that “progressive” means to make incremental progress on social, political and legislative issues. Sadly, these people are mistaken and have no historical perspective of what being a “progressive” means.

What a “progressive” really is, is someone who is forward thinking. It’s a person of vision. It describes someone who not only recognizes the problems we face now, but has the ability to see the problems that have not yet presented themselves and then comes up with solutions to solve those problems. But most of all, despite all odds, true “progressives” find ways to implement those solutions. They believe that no problem is too big to solve, nor any solution is too improbable to implement.

<snip>

Candidate Obama has shown that he can have a big idea. President Obama has failed to show that he has the ability to see it through. Obama sold himself as a progressive-lite candidate. The question is now; does he intend to fill that role?

http://spilledink.net/?p=177

Edited to add the last part after the <snip>.

And to add the following: I think this blogger kind of hit the nail on the head when it comes to what many want to believe what a progressive now is. As much as progressives are accused of projecting (often without proof), it can be said that many Obama supporters project or attempt to redefine what being a progressive really is.

[WiffenPoof]

1. "Progressive?"

Those who used to be known as Democrats.

-PLA

[Exilednight]

4. Reading the rest of the story kind of puts the whole thing in perspective. I've been arguing this

for a long time. Somehow, Obama supporters have managed to water-down the word progressive to mean anything that makes minute progress.

[WiffenPoof]

9. Indeed...

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm not sure why I was naive enough to believe that Democratic principles meant something. Sometimes I feel that I have been put out to pasture.

-PLA

[SidDithers]

2. pffftt....nt

Sid

[WiffenPoof]

3. Not Sure Anymore...

But this is what it used to mean to be a Dem. Now it sounds more like a left-wing, commie pinko pig. Dignity.

(From) FDR Economic Bill Of Rights

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. I Like The Term Liberal Better Anyway

"... But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

[Exilednight]

7. Obama is far from being a liberal, either. n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. JFK Wasn't Universally Popular With The Liberals Of His Time Either

Eleanor Roosevelt supported Adlai Stevenson...

[WiffenPoof]

10. In Some ways...

Adlai Stevenson was too intellectual for the electorate.

-PLA

[Exilednight]

11. I am not convinced that JFK was a liberal, either. Many of his policies would be

considered right-wing today. The embargo on Cuba comes to mind. Read a few books about the history the US has played in Cuban politics leading up to Cuban missile crisis and you will see that Cuba could of been an ally instead of an enemy.

Has Castro done things that are questionable in terms of the way he treats his people? Yes, but not nearly as bad as some of current, and allies of the same time, treat their citizens.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Thank you for proving my point.

.

[Exilednight]

13. Being liberal has nothing to do with being popular. It has to do with policy ........

When LBJ signed civil rights into law, it wasn't popular.

If really pressed, someone would be hard pressed to find a piece of truly liberal or progressive legislation passed by JFK.

[frazzled]

30. Actually, it was pretty popular

... in the early 1960s the basic civil rights agenda was pretty broadly popular among white northerners. Getting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law was a big struggle largely because the procedural rules and traditions of the senate gave southern members a lot of ability to block broadly supported legislation. What’s more, Democratic leaders were reluctant to push hard on an issue that tended to split their coalition. But when it finally did come up for a vote only six northern senators voted against it—Byrd of West Virginia, Hickenlooper of Iowa, Goldwater of Arizona, Mechem of New Mexico, Simpson of Wyoming, and Cotton of New Hampshire. During Mad Men times, both of New York’s senators were pro-civil rights Republicans.

And similarly, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 were both supported by a majority of northern Democrats and a majority of Republicans. Civil disobedience and mass marches were controversial, the civil rights movement was very unpopular among white southerners, northern whites obviously weren’t free of racist sentiments, and something of a backlash against the civil rights movement would come in the near future, but as of 1963 the civil rights cause was broadly popular in the north.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2009/09/the-popularity-of-the-civil-rights-movement/

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

28. I don't think he was a liberal, either. n/t

[Peregrine Took]

6. To me, a progressive is a liberal who thinks.

Does not have "kneejerk" responses to typical liberal causes - only supports the ones that have validity.

[ElboRuum]

26. +1 n/t

[mtnsnake]

14. Progressives like to make things better. They spot problems & come up with ideas to solve them

Instead of arguing all day with each other, they come up with solutions to real-life problems. Once they come up with the ideas that will make life better for everyone, the liberals (the real ones) take those ideas and jump into action to get it done.

[LWolf]

15. There are two problems with that definition of "progressive."

The first is that there is any agreement on what direction is "forward." No matter what direction you are headed, to go further in that direction is to go "forward" for the people on that road. Whether it is to move left/liberal policy "forward," or to move right/conservative policy "forward."

The second is the Orwellian twisting of words for the purposes of propaganda. For example, if I'm taking a Zogby poll, "progressive" is defined as "very liberal." If I'm a neoliberal DLCer, I can call myself a "progressive" because the DLC think tank is the "ProgressivePolicy Institute." In other words, "progressive" can mean whatever anyone wants it to mean.

[johnaries]

16. "No True Scotsman". This is an obvious attempt to disenfranchise

one or more subsets of Progressives and kidnap the term by another subset.

The definition of "progressive" is:

1. Moving forward; advancing.
2. Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change.
3. Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership.
4. Progressive Of or relating to a Progressive Party: the Progressive platform of 1924.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/progressive

[Exilednight]

17. That's a nice dictionary definition, but has no cultural reference. You're talking about

progress, but the author took the long view based on history.

[johnaries]

32. OK, but even if we accept the author's "made-up" definition,

Obama has shown that he is not only looking to the immediate future, but the long-term future as well.
I still proclaim that this OP falls under the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.

[Ozymanithrax]

18. Historically, Progressivism is a mixed bag.

FDR was not a progressive. In fact, Progressives such as Herbert Hoover and Huey Long detested him and labeled many of his programs as weak or give aways to the banks. Prohibition was a progressive idea. both for alcohol (long gone) and for laws against drugs. Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive, especially in such things trust busting. He was also more pro Unions, or at least not reflexively anti-union and pro-business owners.

It is a mixed bag because Progressivism can be found on both sides.

I think progress, even by increments is better than standing on a soap box and whining because some progressive idea or another did not get enacted. But I don't claim to be a progressive, only a liberal.

[vaberella]

22. EXACTLY. Progressivism is not an ideology. And it has tons of people.

Some would agree is progressive and others would not. Not to mention people can be progressive for CERTAIN things and be very limited on others. Progressivism is not to be identify as a whole but as a part.

[Exilednight]

27. Of course it's an ideology. So is liberalism and conservatism and libertarianism.

ism means philosophical theory, otherwise known as an ideology.

[ClassWarrior]

19. I find this a good template:

I believe that progressive values are traditional American values, that progressive principles are fundamental American principles, and that progressive policy directions point the way to where most Americans really want our country to go. The job of unifying progressives is really the job of bringing our country together around its finest traditional values.

CONSERVATIVES believe in...
STRONG DEFENSE
FREE MARKETS
LOWER TAXES
SMALLER GOVERNMENT
FAMILY VALUES

PROGRESSIVES believe in...
STRONGER AMERICA
BROAD PROSPERITY
BETTER FUTURE
EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT
MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY

» A stronger America is not just about defense, but about every dimension of strength: our effectiveness in the world, our economy, our educational system, our health care system, our families, our communities, our environment, and so forth.

» Broad prosperity is the effect that markets are supposed to bring about. But all markets are constructed for someone's benefit; no markets are completely free. Markets should be constructed for the broadest possible prosperity, and they haven't been.

» Americans want and deserve a better future — economically, educationally, environmentally, and in all other areas of life — for themselves and their children. Lowering taxes, primarily for the super-rich elite, has had the effect of defunding programs that would make a better future possible in all these areas. The proper goal is a better future for all Americans.

» Smaller government is, in conservative propaganda, supposed to eliminate waste. It is really about eliminating social programs. Effective government is what we need our government to accomplish to create a better future.

» Conservative family values are those of a strict father family — authoritarian, hierarchical, every man for himself, based around discipline and punishment. Progressives live by the best values of both families and communities: mutual responsibility, which is authoritative, equal, two-way, and based around caring, responsibility (both individual and social), and strength.

The remarkable thing is just how much progressives do agree on. These are just the things that voters tend to care about most: our values, our principles, and the direction in which we want to take the nation.

http://www.infoamerica.org/teoria_textos/manifiesto_lakoff.pdf

NGU.

[craigmatic]

20. It's not like the definition is hard. A progressive is

a person who believes in fairness and using the government for improving the quality of life for everyone in society. I wouldn't call Obama a progressive but he's progressive leaning a little more than half the time in rhetoric at least.

[vaberella]

21. First off this is FLAMEBAIT!

He defined a progressive which means Obama is one.It's not about incremental pushes. No one has EVER defined a progressive as such. I'm a bit surprised that the poster assumes that many Obama supporters think progress is incremental. Progress has no degree to measure. This moves from incremental to sweeping. It's idiotic to assume such a thing. I'm a bit surprised he limits marginalizes incremental progress as non-progressive thinking. That's ridiculous. Actually the post itself is utterly ridiculous. I think this blogger just fits what you want to think about Progress. However it puts parameters where there is none and assumes much about Obama supporters and also creates a division which implies that everyone else are non-Obama supporters---which would mean that you are NOT an Obama supporter.

[Exilednight]

24. I can tell by your response that you did not read the entire article.

If you had bothered to read the whole article, you would see how they measure progressives and how Obama has failed to live up to being a true progressive.

I agree with the author, incremental progress is not the same as being a progressive.

[vaberella]

23. You're defining progressives wrong. I'll have you know, Snowe is a progressive.

She supports many progressive ideals and has voted for such measures. And she's a Repub. There is no Liberals/Democrats/Left DO NOT EQUAL Progressives. It's a misnomer.

[Exilednight]

25. I didn't write the definition, I just agree with it. So I'm not sure who you are talking to. n/t

[FrenchieCat]

29. Thanks for letting me know what site NOT to frequent on the Internet......

So much bullshit at that link that it ain't even funny.

[Exilednight]

31. No problem. If you don't like it, then don't go. You're free to visit what ever site you feel you

need to visit to you have your preconceived beliefs validated.