In case you missed it, Media Matters posted some great video of Congressman Steve King, the far right Republican from my old home state of Iowa, going ballistic on the House floor after Congressman Keith Ellison's special order on "Why I am a Progressive."
Late last week, I wrote about this special order because it had special resonance with me. Rep. Ellison contacted me to let me know that he had read my new book, The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be cover-to-cover and wanted to use some of my ideas and research for a special order on the House floor as part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) presentation. I was honored, and as I wrote about last week, I thought Keith's presentation was dead-on.
I know a lot about history and in my book I detail some of the extreme conservative debates and arguments that have been taking place on the House floor over many years. But now, in the age of video and YouTube, and with great groups like Media Matters keeping a watchful eye on C-SPAN, we're able to view for ourselves what these radical views of American conservative ideals look like. To conservatives like King, today and throughout American history, progressive ideas have always been derided as socialism. It's what conservatives said about ending slavery, child labor laws, food safety, environmental legislation, Social Security, minimum wage, and virtually every other advance in American history.
So watch Rep. King's video below, it's definitely a keeper. You'll be able to show your grandkids when right-wingers 50 years from now are screaming about how the latest progressive proposals are socialism.