How progressive are you?

[Swede]

From my perspective I don't see conservatives as evil. Some are evil,some are greedy,but some just saving a buck.

[Warpy]

1. I see them as frightened

but what their fear causes them to do is often evil.

[Double T]

2. CONServatives are very self serving which leads to...........

a lot of trouble for everyone else. Greed in all its forms and to varying degrees is one of the CONServatives greatest and most evil traits.

[derby378]

3. Some old-style conservatives are actually okay, but it's this new crop of neo-cons that is pure evil

And, unfortunately, the neo-cons have taken over the Republican Party to such an extent that there is no Republican Party anymore - just a bloated tumor that has infected the Republican body-politic and sapped whatever nutrition there was in that organism.

[davsand]

4. Ideally, our differences are rooted in our views of government and its role.

I have very real issues with governmental interference in my personal life (think of issues like women's right to choice and property owners' rights/Eminent Domain if you want a couple quick examples.) As a result, I am probably not seen by some Dems as being "progressive enough" because I refuse to blindly accept political dogma.

Oddly enough, I was out there many years ago with abortion rights groups working as a clinic escort, and I was out there with Act Up on the issue of AIDS. Now, suddenly, my credibility as a "Good Dem" comes under scrutiny sometimes. Just as the GOP has been shaped by the fundies and the neo-cons, the Dems have been shaped at times by our own extreme factions.

What I find so particularly frustrating right now is my growing realization that on the local level I don't have as many issues or exceptions with the GOP as I'd thought. In fact, at times, I think I garner more respect from the local GOP than I do from my own Dem party--especially on Labor issues. THAT has been a very real eye opener for me.

Yeah, I do differ with the GOP on some very substantive issues (like Choice and GLBT Rights to cite just a couple) but I also am not all that far away from them when it comes to dictating how property owners deal with property or about raising and spending taxes. I have come to realize that I CAN express my opinions to the local Republicans and be given a fair shake--I just have to be sure that what I am saying it is not wrapped up some false moral superiority.

I can talk to several of the local GOP guys about Abortion, and yep, I sure can agree with them that abortion is not anything that anybody wants to encourage. Yep, I can agree with them that I'd like for my ten year old daughter be an adult before she starts having sex. This is stuff that I think we ALL agree on, really.

I have also found that I can talk about the idea that maybe contraceptive choices are limited, and as such, women do become pregnant against their will. I can talk to them about better sex ed that actually teaches the truth about fertility and STDs beyond saying "Just say no." I can also discuss funding for contraceptive research for things that work and don't risk women's health. They maybe don't agree with me 100% but they will listen to me--and that is a START.

Literally, just recently, one of the local GOP guys made the observation that I could never pass a Republican no matter how I tried. He laughed about the fact that I am a "LIBERAL" to the bone. Then he sobered up for a minute and made the comment that I am also one of the few local Dems that will actually listen to the local Republicans and talk to them without attitude. As an officeholder, I am very proud to have anyone say that.

NeoCons are an odd breed. They are not the mainline GOP and it is a horrible mistake to think they are. Some of the more fanatical Dems are not exactly our mainstream either--and I sure as hell am not in agreement with them either. I don't think that makes me a "bad" Dem. I think it makes me somebody that has a grasp of what it takes to formulate a working relationship with the folks cross the aisle.

Your opinions may not match mine, but it doesn't mean I have the right to discount them out of hand--just as you need to listen to me. I demand that respect, I think you have every right to demand it in return. Cooperation is very much a two way street and I'm afraid we have lost sight of that fact in factions of both parties.

Am I a "LIBERAL? Hell yes.

Am I Democrat? Yep, not looking to change that anytime soon.

Judge ye not...


Laura

[LWolf]

5. I don't think viewing conservatives as "evil"

is a measure of "progressiveness."

I can think someone is wrong without thinking them evil. I can think someone is blind, stupid, misguided, misinformed, brainwashed, arrogant, narrow-minded, self-centered, or any number of unfortunate qualities without viewing them as "evil."

Generally, I think many conservatives have a too narrow, literal, black/white a perspective. In some cases, I think that conservatism is driven by fear. Fear of difference. Fear of loss of power/control.

I don't think that's evil; just narrow and unaware.

On anyone's scale, I tend to be a leftist libertarian. Does all this make me more, or less, progressive?

:shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

6. To many DUers it is. They like to show off just how much holier-than-thou they are...

... which extends to showing off how much more compassionate-ier-than-thou, and the like.

It becomes like a Name That Tune game:

"I'm SOOO progressive, that I would never hit somebody, even if they hit me first."

"Oh yah? Well I'm SOOOOOO progressive that I wouldn't hit somebody, even if they raped and killed my mother, and I was next."

"No way! Name that tune!"