Progressivism

Obama is still a figure of singular promise in American politics. To fulfill that promise he has to overcome his own cautious, accommodating temperament, and progressives have to believe it is still possible.

There comes a time during just about every general election cycle when a faction of progressive Democratic voters begin to harrumph and gripe about the two party system. Specifically, the following remark jumps back into popular discourse: "we're choosing between the lesser of two evils."

The only thing wrong with Obama's populism is that it took him until nearly the year of his re-election to practice it resolutely. More, please.

Ron Paul's progressive supporters might not grasp that Paul's libertarianism, while informing some of his seemingly progressive views on foreign policy and the like, carries with it a significant load of horrendous and unacceptable baggage.

WASHINGTON -- The typical Washington consultant has simple advice for Senate candidates in a purple state: Run to the middle, and whatever you do, don...

I got a chance to speak with Sabeel Rahman, a Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute who is working on a project outlining progressive values and goals.

WASHINGTON -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), fresh off a re-election victory for an unprecedented third term, went on "The Daily Show" on Monday and raile...

Political handicappers are so intent on trying to quantify Democratic losses in the midterm elections that they are missing the bigger picture: America's radical center is in a permanent state of revolt.

In the previous post in this series, I wrote: To progressives, it seems a given that of course we must do something to alleviate the suffering that th...

Transcript of my comments to the annual Progressive Festival in Petaluma, CA, September 26, 2010: First of all, thank you to the organizers of this e...

In my previous post, I wrote this: The fundamental differences between the left and the right -- between conservatives and progressives -- comes down ...

The way populism wins is to be angry at what the elites have done to this country and smart about how to fix it at the same time. It is the only thing that will save the Democrats politically and rebuild our country again.

How did the Democratic left, which used to be defined by progressive economics more than anything else, become distinguished from the Republican right merely over differences on same-sex marriage and global warming?

To my conservative friends: The fact that I care about keeping you from starving, freezing to death, and dying due to lack of good medical care does not mean that I eventually want to send you to a death camp.

Let's pause and give thanks to Glenn Beck. No, seriously -- that's what he's due.

From his paranoid, delusional ranting about how liberals hate anyone successful to his Social Darwinist view of society and nature, Glenn Beck laid out the conservative line and took it to its logical conclusion. And the audience loved it.

The instinct to shovel the drive of the 85-year-old neighbor in a snowstorm should apply to making sure she is taken care of in terms of her Social Security and Medicare as well.

The folks at Conservapedia are re-translating the Bible to make it fit better with conservative ideology. Now there are no suggestions about what's to be done with all those inconvenient references to the poor.

The hysteria at CPAC offers all the proof anyone needs: we are entering a new era of progressivism. Let's make the most of it.

The day will come when Obama will have no choice but to remind the giant corporations through tough government action that the U.S. is not just another one of their wholly owned subsidiaries.

I am convinced that coherence and unity in pushing the compelling idea of American progressivism is a big part of what made the Convention such a success.