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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow does one define the term "progressive candidate"?
Last edited Sun Sep 10, 2017, 04:00 PM - Edit history (2)
In my view:
If it includes an emphasis on corporate centered and corporate friendly trade agreements, it is not progressive.
If it does not include much higher taxes on the very highest earned and unearned incomes, it is not progressive.
If it does not include a single payer healthcare system, it is not progressive.
If it does not include large cuts to the US war budget to free up money for social spending, it is not progressive.
If it does not include massive spending on renewable energy sources and elimination of subsidies for oil and nuclear, it is not progressive.
If it does not include free college for students, it is not progressive.
Edited to add:
This is the actual ending.
More could be added, but to me this represents the minimum position.
Note that it indicates that this list is not complete. Many other points could have been added. Any responses that accuse me of ignoring social issues represent a misreading of the post.
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)
leftstreet
(36,108 posts)![](/emoticons/happy.gif)
DURec Excellent description
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)My view of what is progressive is based on that. To each his or her own definition, I suppose.
leftstreet
(36,108 posts)That's probably rhetorical, I just don't understand how the two got separated
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)almost exclusively. While they're often related, one does not necessarily have a direct effect on the other.
Human dignity, environmental concerns, quality of life, ending prejudice and inequality based on almost everything.
Those are my issues, and the things that define for me what is progressive and what is not. If those are not mentioned, I'm not listening when someone speaks of progressivism. I didn't see any of those in the OP, so I objected.
rogue emissary
(3,148 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Many more things should be added.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)The majority of progressives. If it wasn't deliberately framing some issues as lesser, then you screwed up big time.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)bettyellen
(47,209 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)But I did not say that I am willing to accept only that minimum.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(15,623 posts)Emphasis on ending the extreme income inequality of the past 40 years;
Dismantling the Prison Industrial Complex;
Reinstating Glass-Steagall (or something even stricter);
Signing the Paris/Kyoto accords on climate;
Reversing Citizens United;
Card Check for union membership ;
Codifying in law a woman's right to choose;
Dismantling the surveillance state and unitary executive, including repeal of the Patriot Act and Military Commissions act of 2006, which gives the president final authority to designate who is a terrorist and may be detained indefinitely without due process;
Any politician opposing these policies is not, IMO, progressive. They may be Liberal in some sense, more likely Neoliberal moderates.
There's more, but these are some of the most important. If these (and the items on your OP) were implemented, I'd seriously consider moving back to the US from Canada.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)What province do you live in?
Fiendish Thingy
(15,623 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)The Democratic Party divided over whether progressivism was about economics or social justice. Those who focused primarily on economic issues connected with progressivism were disappointed by the eventual nominee and many of them simply stayed home on Election Day or voted in a stupid way.
It is a great pity that we cannot agree that neither economic or social issues are the sole defining factors in progressivism. They are related, of course, but do not necessarily depend on each other. Those who neglect social justice issues or who treat them as secondary issued dependent on economics are not really progressives, in my opinion.
We need to do both and treat both as equal in priority. We need to give real service, rather than lip service, to both things. If we do not do that, we will continue to lose through alienation of one group or another.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)and the corporate media normalizing Trump by refusing to cover actual issues.
And, as I stated in my post, the list was not intended to be a complete list of positions or issues.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)So be it.
lapucelle
(18,268 posts)should take a look at the platform that the Democratic Party adopted in July/August 2016. It's an excellent guide.
Eliot Rosewater
(31,112 posts)lapucelle
(18,268 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)However, I'm betting that few bother to go and read it. It's longer than a DU post.
BigmanPigman
(51,608 posts)MrsCoffee
(5,803 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)However, I doubt it.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)More could be added, but to me this represents the minimum position.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)tell the story, I think. I would have made different choices altogether, perhaps mentioning economics in one of them. You have provided your list of priorities.
We all make choices, and when we tell them, we tell much.
You said that labels are meaningless, yet define a label in your original post. Was your post meaningless? I doubt that was your intention.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)that are important to progressivism, in favor of focusing on economic issues almost exclusively. Apparently, you believe that those economic issues have a much higher priority, or you would have included social justice issues in your list.
It's your list. You are welcome to hold that opinion, as far as I'm concerned. But, your list does not match my list of what makes up progressivism. It leaves out far too much. But, it's your list.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)is your argument that I should have written a much longer post?
Okay, if that is your criticism, I understand.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)social justice issues. We made that mistake in 2016, and are suffering gravely for that now. I believe you made the same mistake that many people made last year. The focus is skewed and your essential points are far too limited. You can't just say, "there could be more, but I can't be bothered with those issues," which is tantamount to what you said at the end.
You listed the points you thought were most important. You forgot at least an equal number of points that should have just as high a priority as the ones you thought of when composing your post.
Again, if you want to see a more complete list, go here:
https://www.democrats.org/party-platform
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)I did not present a comprehensive list, but you appear to have misread it as being a comprehensive list. And judging by many of the subsequent comments, many followed your lead.
So there was no forgetting on my part, just a misreading on your part. Why do you continue to ignore the ending of the post?
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)You identified your list as the "minimum standard." That means that you'd accept a candidate who agreed with your list, regardless of all the things you left off your list of "minimum standards." I want a much broader standard, you see.
I have addressed the weak ending of your post, where you shuffled off everything not on your list to "also ran" status. I've addressed that throughout my arguments in this thread.
You have addressed it not at all, except to excuse your limited economics-based list as your "minimum standard." My standards are higher than that, if you don't mind.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)So yes, you are incorrect in your reading and your implication of motivation. But you have the right to your opinion even if it is not based on what I wrote.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)argue de novo, as though the original ending no longer exists. It does, and can be read by anyone.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)And indicated explicitly that it was edited. Did you notice that indication?
VermontKevin
(1,473 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)As the ending should make clear.
VermontKevin
(1,473 posts)MrsCoffee
(5,803 posts)Words mean something.
You keep accusing people here of misreading your post. You posted specifically what your minimum definition of progressive was without even thinking of including social issues and civil rights. You may be offended because you think people misread your post. Just think how offended those affected by the issues you didn't think to jot down off the top of your head are.
Instead of being offended, perhaps check your privilege.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)MrsCoffee
(5,803 posts)You set that line. Not progressives. Not Democrats. Not DUers.
Progressive dog
(6,904 posts)could be ignored by anyone claiming to be a progressive is beyond my understanding.
romana
(765 posts)LWolf
(46,179 posts)depending on which version of the term "progressive" is used. All language evolves and all terms can be "spun" to suit a political point of view. Plenty of words have multiple definitions and connotations.
So "progressive candidate" can be a neo-liberal produced by the neo-liberal think tank, the "Progressive Policy Institute", or PPI. The PPI thrives on using terms like "progressive" and "liberal" to describe themselves.
Or "progressive" can refer to the era transitioning from the 19th century into the 20th, trying to solve problems brought by industrialization and government and corporate corruption.
Or "progressive" can be a term relatively synonymous with "liberal," used in an attempt to distance a political pov from the tarnished "liberal" label.
Or "progressive" can simply mean wanting to make progress, regardless of what KIND of progress or the pov behind it.
Frankly, it doesn't matter which you pick, some other group will use it for their own purposes, muddying the political waters beyond help.
All of that said, no matter what label is used: progressive, liberal, leftist, socialist, commie, or other, I stand where I've always stood. I look for candidates, "progressive" or not, that:
Are active, staunch defenders of social AND economic justice, not playing one against the other; walk their talk; put people and issues before partisan propaganda and jockeying; and, have a consistent record of doing so.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Labels mean nothing. What is considered liberal in 2017 would have been center right in 1967.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)If they mean nothing, why make a list that attempts to define a label? That's very confusing, you see...
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)And with no clear definition, or no agreed upon objectives in the progressive list, people will be confused.
We see from the various posts about pro-choice versus anti-choice Democrats that there are divisions among Democrats. We can see the same divisions on other issues, from Israel, to labor issues, to tax issues.
So what, in the opinion of people responding, are the core positions that we should be working toward?
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)But, you just said they weren't.
You just stated: "Labels mean nothing."
You have listed the objectives you think are most important in your attempt to define the label, "progressive." What you included appear to be your highest priorities. I have said that I think you left out what should actually be the highest priorities. So, is your list or mine more correct as a definition of "progressive?"
If you want a more complete list, I suggest you have another look at the Democratic Party Platform, as adopted at the 2016 National Convention. I think you'll find points there that you failed to mention, but that are equally important to many.
https://www.democrats.org/party-platform
I support that platform, at this time. I would, in the future, modify some of the planks to be even more progressive, but that platform is an excellent start, as have been previous Democratic Party platforms. It is that platform that our nominee ran on in 2016. That she did not prevail is a great, great pity, and one we will regret for a very long time to come, I am afraid.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)As are labels.
And I did explicitly state that my list was not intended to be complete.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)You don't see that, apparently. It was top-loaded with the issues you think are most important, with the rest left as an afterthought.
Sorry, but I could not help but point that out. And you're still arguing for your list. Oh, well...
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Same mistakes, again and again. Like watching a train wreck, really.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)votes of privilege. Those without privilege, however, are not well-served by the offered list, I think.
I prefer the list in the 2016 Democratic Party Platform, frankly:
https://www.democrats.org/party-platform
That was the list Hillary Clinton was using.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)And I mean that literally, because those who just claim to be The Only True Progressives (no matter how sincere) without doing their best to actually make these advances happen aren't the ones accomplishing progress.
I'm not a Democrat because I love corporate greed -- a lie so ridiculous people should be ashamed to be linked to it even by fake names -- It's because the Democrat Party is by far the largest and most effective progressive political group in the nation. Indeed, we've been the only effective one for many decades now.
In the end, we are not our labels but the results of our actions.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)But there's are certain segment of vain and egotistical voters (and "non-voters'') that will be enamored by such a naive shopping-list of requirements. Even at the expense of losing, those voters can still pat themselves on the back and indulge themselves with the self-satisfaction that comes with their belief of how much better they are than everyone else. It's all very Sarandonesque and Stein-like. Some take great pride in standing still (or even moving backward) because they can boast to the world that they didn't compromise. ¡Viva la Revolución!, eh?
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Did you read my ending?
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)And you're not fightibg discrimiation against POC - To the extent you can say it loudly proudly- I have a huge problem with that. That's not progressive.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)But some here, judging by the comments, insist that the shorter post is evidence of something.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)That says everything. It really does. The arrogance in assuming you can label others and lesser than you is just icing on this shit cake. Just no, you're not speaking for progressives by any stretch of the imagination.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)based on what you infer must be my motives.
Arrogance? Arrogance is assuming that one can assign motives to others based on a misreading of a post.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)To label other life long progressives as somehow lesser than you- which is exactly what you're doing.
For most of us your list is seriously lacking, and that's why you've gotten push back.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The Democratic platform is hundreds of thousands of words. My post is not.
marylandblue
(12,344 posts)You could have a made longer "minimum" without making a 5,000 word essay.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The Democratic Party platform is probably hundreds of thousands of words. I concentrated on what I felt was the minimum requirement for a progressive platform. I could have done one devoted exclusively to social justice issues but O chose to focus on economic issues that also impact everyone.
marylandblue
(12,344 posts)economic issues that affect everyone. It's a winning coalition that includes enough votes to win, and for progessives that will include some social justice issues that only affect some. It's certainly likely that in forming a coalition, you will piss off somebody that can't join, but if you leave out too many issues, you will leave out too many people and lose.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)have you? Despite a link in this very thread.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)Exactly. I copied it, pasted into Microsoft Word and checked the number of words
It does NOT contain hundreds of thousands of words. Apparently, you have not even gone to look at it, or you'd know that. Novels contain hundreds of thousands of words. The 2016 Democratic Party Platform is the length of a short story.
An average reader could read the entire thing in less than an hour. Have you read it? Have you even opened it?
Here's what you wrote: "The Democratic platform is hundreds of thousands of words. My post is not."
You are incorrect.
VermontKevin
(1,473 posts)let alone as a progressive.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... in my opinion, it's the SURE SIGN of a dishonest candidate who CANNOT BE TRUSTED... or a candidate who has SOMETHING TO HIDE... or a candidate who ISN'T ALL THAT HE (or she) IS CLAIMING TO BE.
VermontKevin
(1,473 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... it's as simple as that. There's no two ways about it it. Candidates who do not (or did not) release their tax returns cannot be trusted.
VermontKevin
(1,473 posts)office.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... and we give a free pass to shifty and dishonest candidates (regardless of the party.) Our party can't afford to be lax in that regard. This should be our minimum standard.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)Strangely, I thought it was.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)And you have that right.
Squinch
(50,955 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)MM picked up on your omission of social justice criteria immediately. That became the talking point, and the entire discussion got derailed. We've now gone from at litmus test for being a Democrat to a litmus test for being a "progressive" Democrat, and I see that as pandering to the Bernie crowd, which I refuse to do.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)I share your frustration and anger.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Frustration is writing that a post is not meant to be a comprehensive list and having numerous posters ignore the clear language of the post to argue a non-existent issue.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... than one probably realizes. It needs to be called-out, and I'm glad that someone did.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)What is revealing is how one poster can apparently misread the ending and then many others accept the misreading as the actual ending when the post can be read by anyone here.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)I saw the ending. Time to check your pride. It was a lame disclaimer that tried to make an excuse for a "random" (?) cut-off point. The "minimums" that made it the top of your list... the ones worthy of mentioning or including at all do tell me much (and I'm sorry to say that what it tells me not very flattering.)
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)that a list that was explicitly not intended to be comprehensive missed something.
And I feel that many here accepted MM's omission as the actual post.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)My criticism of your OP had nothing to do with your list. I don't care that you did not include any social justice requirements. My point is that, in making any kind of list like this, you open yourself up to criticism from someone who doesn't like that you've omitted something or doesn't like your word choice. It's almost impossible to actually pin down a label that everyone will be satisfied using. Instead of finding an answer, you are more likely to incite a thread riot. So my criticism was that you wanted to define the term "progressive". This is the main thing I see as causing division in the party: taking politicians' statements out of context and trying to locate everyone in the party along some subjective scale of "progressiveness".
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The division in the Party is well reflected in the endless blame posts here that attack the other candidate in an attempt to assign blame.
hack89
(39,171 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)And is no way progressive.
There is no way in the world that someone with, say my income, should not pay for their own kids college.
A truly progressive model would be a return to the system we were trying to build in the 60's. People like me pay their own. Then we have generous grants for all eligible Americans who do not have the resources to go. It is not rocket science. Like we do the tax system. You know, or progressive tax system where the more you make the more you pay.
And if you want to see tuition skyrocket, then disconnect the cost of tuition with the ability of students to attend a school. Market forces do exist.
Nothing torques me more than seeing a auditorium of white kids currently in college cheering on free college. Generally, they are the group of Americans least in need of government help...but they vote.
Have a nice day.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)If you have a relatively high income you are not in the majority.
Nice try.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)What of the "minority of Americans?" What of them? Are they to wait for the economic benefits to trickle down to them? What of poor schools in inner cities and areas where people of color are the majority? What about that. How will they benefit from free college, when they don't even get a free basic education, while other areas have outstanding schools available to them?
No, thanks.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The majority refers to the bottom 90% or so, those for whom college tuition is a burden.
Please.
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)Sorry.
Majority has a very specific meaning, and it is not 90%. Not at all. Words mean stuff.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)MineralMan
(146,317 posts)I'll leave it at that.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Is not progressive
Nice try.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Most families find college costs to be a huge burden. But there could be an income cutoff for the top 1% or so.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)My wife and I are in the top 20% of the income bracket and we would have no problem paying for college. Ivy League? No, but if my kid gets into Harvard he or she will have a huge earning potential and would be expect to take loans since they will have a lifetime of earning potential way above what I have had.
The upper 1/3 of the income distribution is the group who already gets the most government aid thru bad tax policy such as mortgage interest deduction and low marginal rates. They also send their kids to the best schools and on average have more stable households. Their kids are healthier and are given support both in and out the classroom their entire lives. They are way, way more likely to actually be accepted to premier colleges and universities which can be as difficult as paying for them. Oh, and they are overwhelmingly white.
Now you want to pay for their college as well? If that is your idea of progressivism you can keep it. I prefer to use the power of the federal government to raise up the underclass, underpaid and historically oppressed. Not give more goodies to the class that does not need the aid.
I generally agree with much of the rest of your list, but I believe you and too many progressives have not thought the whole free college thing out. Sounds great in front of a auditorium of white folks in college, but that does not make it progressive. All it will do is further entrench the upper parts of the demographics.
Have a nice evening.
JHan
(10,173 posts)Clinton's specificity in her college plans was the smart approach , still the idea of "free college" as a fix-all glosses over complexities.
Generally, the neediest of society, those who are functionally illiterate and didn't finish high school, will not be eligible to receive "free college" . The beneficiaries will be young people who hope to make more than median wage on their first day at the job.
The catch is most degrees will not net you more than the median wage on the first day. How many degrees are worth taking yourself out of the workforce for 4 years when you could have gained experience had you started work right out of high school? Take Germany for example: grossly simplistic comparisons are made between the the U.S. and Germany - but there's a difference, in germany there are jobs you can get without a university degree, jobs that require a degree in the U.S, and there's a focus on vocational training. Treating free college as a fixall puts pressure on administrative university costs, especially if you're taking a degree which isn't terribly productive - ergo a degree society isn't lining up for and demanding.
And let's say someone takes up a degree that society IS lining up for, why can't that person cover the costs of their tuition? There are already state taxes aimed at keeping state colleges affordable, federal research grants, land grants, scholarship aid etc, it's not that society doesn't pay anything at the moment.
And as for unproductive degrees, "free college" encourages students to pursue these degrees when they might be better off pursuing a trade career for example or pursue a productive degree instead. EDIT: And I am not arguing that Students shouldn't pursue degrees that aren't high in demand, personal education is valuable regardless, but it's a valid consideration. I also believe the humanities shouldn't be dismissed or ignored, and I won't mind a change in the way we value and assess certain degrees, but is this some magical fix? No it isn't.
What free college does is give funds to literate high school graduates who only have to choose a sensible major and they're set for life.
Which is why I favor greater emphasis on k-12. Greater emphasis on infancy health and nutrition plans for vulnerable mothers, particularly if those mothers are homeless, barely literate and live in communities with decrepit infrastructure. I want less talk about "free college" and more talk about literacy and numeracy rates in the United States and how to address the effects of poverty on access to education.
And you know what would make a real progressive platform? Universal basic income, but no one's ready for that yet. There are basic things progressives should be on board with relating to social justice issues, and ideas we should aim to implement to solve the economic predicament many Americans are in - Do my concerns make me less of a progressive? Maybe, according to some, but I don't mind, because frankly the term has become a weapon to bash people with, so I'll stick to calling myself liberal.
Expecting Rain
(811 posts)for all of the society's ills, it isn't progressive.
If it is all empty rage with no concrete plans behind the hot-air and the anger and division actively sets back progress, it isn't progressive.
If nothing at all of a positive nature is accomplished in concrete terms it isn't progressive.
There is a yawning gap between being progressive and simply sloganeering.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Last edited Sun Sep 10, 2017, 04:18 PM - Edit history (1)
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Expecting Rain
(811 posts)Progressive dog
(6,904 posts)rather than a fixed ideology.
George II
(67,782 posts)...is in the eye of the beholder.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Define a Democrat for me. Define what Democrats stand for. Also moving targets.
George II
(67,782 posts)guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)A Democrat is one who belongs to the Democratic Party and works to change it, if its not acceptable to him/her, by working from within the Party and working WITH other Democrats to make it better.
No matter how you slice it or rationalize it, if you're not a member of the Democratic Party you've decided that you're not a Democrat.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Well done, you.
George II
(67,782 posts)![](/emoticons/hattip.gif)
MineralMan
(146,317 posts)Not a trillion. Please go look at it. It's fairly obvious that you have not done so.
sheshe2
(83,787 posts)Thank you.
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)who does not embrace progressive values which, btw, are written down in the Party platform developed by Democrats with Sanders' supporters. I do know several "progressives" who neglect the Partys progressive platform and forget their participation from precinct level to national convention. Now we either work as a coalition or not. I will not support purity tests or start having people sign promise notes like Teabaggers insist on. Shredding the party rather finding common cause weakens us. Unless, of course, that is what you are seeking.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Anyone following the discussions at DU cannot miss the large number of posts that are continuing the primary debates.
So the issue of what does the Democratic Party stand for is a continuing and crucial one.
Even more crucial is trying to educate voters about the Democratic Party platform in the face of media resistance.
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)for litmus tests is that Democrats are not progressive, something I categorically disagree with. There will never be a person "progressive" or deserving enough per the demands of some of these people. I mistrust their credentials and motives after the last election.
I don't consider Stein or her supporters to be progressive anything. They are agent provocateurs. The same can be said of some of those who identified as Bernie Bros and engaged in incredibly misogynistic verbal assaults against women in social media. What we saw later was some were trolls paid by Putin and others joined them or the ride. We witnessed racist assaults on minority groups by people claiming similar affiliations, which were let stand and not immediately denounced. We saw this occur on these forums. Now we see a new "progressive" group headed by Turner which seeks to paint Democrats and Republicans with the same broad brush.
I consider the Democratic Party to be liberal and progressive in its values. I also think it has been much maligned. To me, the onus is on progressives to let us know their values. I still hear subtle echoes of some of the disturbing social justice statements and/or absence of positions that drove me away months ago. If attentive enough, you will find that Democrats have always shared the same values. A good candidate will be able to get the votes of both.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)And I feel that some few "Bernie bros" were bots.
OnDoutside
(19,960 posts)I see it as an invisibility cloak by the hard left, after decades of being discredited. Whoever came up with it, a hat tip to them, as it has fooled an awfu lot of people. Is it a coincidence that this has happened at the same time as the Fascists have rebranded to Alt Right ?
Being a Democrat or Democratic Party supporter is something to be proud of, and should be the core value.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The "hard left" of which you speak.
What does hard left, or centrist Democrat, or corporate Democrat mean?
OnDoutside
(19,960 posts)Hard left to me are the likes of the Trotskyists and left of even them. I've seen the Progressive moniker being used by far left groups in Europe too, its almost coordinated. It's actually quite clever where they lump all sorts of stuff in, and if you don't agree, then you're not progressive.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The hard left in the US is essentially non-existent in terms of influence.
OnDoutside
(19,960 posts)The Progressivism and general disenchantment with US politics to make an opening for themselves.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)The GOP of course has normalized all of the far right fringe as its norm.
lapucelle
(18,268 posts)"Any responses that accuse me of ignoring social issues represent a misreading of the post."
Now the word "misreading" is being defined idiosyncratically as well.
"More could be added..."
could
modal verb: could (past of can)
1. used to indicate possibility.
possibility
noun
1. a thing that may happen or be the case
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)Given that I did originally point out that this represented the minimum.
Trumpocalypse
(6,143 posts)and proclaiming 'My way or the highway', it is not progressive.
stonecutter357
(12,697 posts)![](/emoticons/hattip.gif)
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)if all people can vote easier....no doubt we will take a progressive track again in america