The Other McCain

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Progressives Awaken To The Idea That Americans Hate Progressivism

Posted on | March 11, 2010 | 21 Comments

by Smitty

Mike Madden at Salon listened to Glenn Beck, and likens his war on the word ‘Progressivism’ to Reagan’s war on ‘Liberal’.

But instead of sitting back and letting “progressive” become the next American political boogieman — like what happened to “liberal” — some Democrats want to fight back. “This is the big fight about the role of government and markets,” says Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future (who also says he’s proud to call himself a progressive, because of the original economic populism of the Progressive Era). “People need a clear narrative about how we drove off a cliff, and what we need to do to get off of it, and it has to relate to a set of ideas about how we got off the cliff.” That’s where laying out a progressive agenda — and explicitly identifying the conservative agenda as opposed to it — would help.

Madden’s analysis manages to overlook the fact that the more egregious RINOs either implicitly by action or explicitly by word brand themselves ‘Progressive’.
Since 1913, there has been progressive flooding (via Insty) of power and money into Washington DC. This has been a function of Amendments 16 & 17, plus the Federal Reserve Act, the three of which bad ideas must be stricken as soon as possible.
Look, Madden, you can put whatever label you want on your collectivist ideology. It matters not. The Constitutional restoration is arriving, albeit slowly, in a great big steamroller, and Progressivism is not going to enjoy much height going down the road.

Category: Progressivism

Comments

21 Responses to “Progressives Awaken To The Idea That Americans Hate Progressivism”

  1. Ran / Si Vis Pacem
    March 11th, 2010 @ 2:36 pm

    ““This is the big fight about the role of government and markets,” says Robert Borosage”

    There’s just something about a state-corporatist worldview that is so 1930’s…

    Nice catch Smitty.

  2. Ran / Si Vis Pacem
    March 11th, 2010 @ 9:36 am

    ““This is the big fight about the role of government and markets,” says Robert Borosage”

    There’s just something about a state-corporatist worldview that is so 1930’s…

    Nice catch Smitty.

  3. Joe
    March 11th, 2010 @ 2:41 pm

    Progressivism is the New Coke of politics.

    It is socialism with a different name.

  4. Joe
    March 11th, 2010 @ 9:41 am

    Progressivism is the New Coke of politics.

    It is socialism with a different name.

  5. Thrasymachus
    March 11th, 2010 @ 3:09 pm

    Liberalism has to function at least partly in th real world; it has managed the government and economy for many decades and its failures and successes are on display for all to see. That actually makes it weaker than progressivism (as the appellation “progressive” is used these days, and not in the early part of the 20th century) which lives in the academic, legal and foundation worlds, does not function in the real world and exists to flog on liberalism. With Obama the progressives have attained as much power as they can expect; and yet they still can’t pull the trigger.

    The real hope for progressivism is changing demographics. When we have a substantially Latin American population it will be easier to rule like Hugo Chavez.

  6. Thrasymachus
    March 11th, 2010 @ 10:09 am

    Liberalism has to function at least partly in th real world; it has managed the government and economy for many decades and its failures and successes are on display for all to see. That actually makes it weaker than progressivism (as the appellation “progressive” is used these days, and not in the early part of the 20th century) which lives in the academic, legal and foundation worlds, does not function in the real world and exists to flog on liberalism. With Obama the progressives have attained as much power as they can expect; and yet they still can’t pull the trigger.

    The real hope for progressivism is changing demographics. When we have a substantially Latin American population it will be easier to rule like Hugo Chavez.

  7. No Sheeples Here
    March 11th, 2010 @ 3:32 pm

    So appalled was I at Beck’s irresponsible demagoguery that I posted this article about the hateful label Beck smacked on Geert Wilders.

  8. No Sheeples Here
    March 11th, 2010 @ 10:32 am

    So appalled was I at Beck’s irresponsible demagoguery that I posted this article about the hateful label Beck smacked on Geert Wilders.

  9. bill hedrick
    March 11th, 2010 @ 3:39 pm

    To be as pithy as possible: The founders believed, and inculcated within the Constitution that intrusive Government was a deep and grievous ill. Progressives (liberals, lefties, whatever) believe that the ills of America can be cured by an increase in the reach and control of the centralized government.

    Whatever labels you want to use are irrelevant. It’s the class of these principles that are key to the debate.

  10. bill hedrick
    March 11th, 2010 @ 10:39 am

    To be as pithy as possible: The founders believed, and inculcated within the Constitution that intrusive Government was a deep and grievous ill. Progressives (liberals, lefties, whatever) believe that the ills of America can be cured by an increase in the reach and control of the centralized government.

    Whatever labels you want to use are irrelevant. It’s the class of these principles that are key to the debate.

  11. Jeff S.
    March 11th, 2010 @ 5:57 pm

    Everyone needs to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the National Review issue of December 31, 2009: “The Four Horsemen of Progressivism”. There are four in-depth articles on Herbert Croly, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Richard T. Ely and, most importantly, John Dewey. The cover is subtitled “The Men Who Created Our World”, and they’re quite right, unfortunately. Among many other things, Dewey’s championing of positive rights has had pernicious effects that continue (obviously) to this day.

    Those four articles are depressing enough even without mentioning the enormous probably fatal damage done to our education system over the last 100 years by Dewey’s progressive theories.

  12. Jeff S.
    March 11th, 2010 @ 12:57 pm

    Everyone needs to beg, borrow or steal a copy of the National Review issue of December 31, 2009: “The Four Horsemen of Progressivism”. There are four in-depth articles on Herbert Croly, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Richard T. Ely and, most importantly, John Dewey. The cover is subtitled “The Men Who Created Our World”, and they’re quite right, unfortunately. Among many other things, Dewey’s championing of positive rights has had pernicious effects that continue (obviously) to this day.

    Those four articles are depressing enough even without mentioning the enormous probably fatal damage done to our education system over the last 100 years by Dewey’s progressive theories.

  13. Adobe Walls
    March 11th, 2010 @ 7:50 pm

    The socialists discovered that Americans understood how un-American their ideology was and renamed themselves progressives. Americans discovered the ruse so they renamed themselves liberals. They in turn became correctly branded tax and spend Liberals or “Radical Liberals” (Spiro was a blunt instrument but sure could turn a phrase). Now they are back to progressives.
    The problem with allowing what ever you want to call the left participate in government or the press is that they are literally un-constitutional, in the same sense as 7-Up is the un-cola. For instance I’ve noticed that when one asks any lefty, if it’s constitutional to mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, whether they are in government, the press or are considered a pundit one gets the following answer. They immediately start to explain why it’s necessary for everyone to be in the insurance pool for their insurance reform scheme to work. Not for one second do they consider, let alone address the constitutional question. For the left “The United States Constitution” is a meaningless phrase, mumbo jumbo at best some quaint scrap of parchment from some misty distant past. In short the idea of limits to what government may do exceeds their comprehension skills.

  14. Adobe Walls
    March 11th, 2010 @ 2:50 pm

    The socialists discovered that Americans understood how un-American their ideology was and renamed themselves progressives. Americans discovered the ruse so they renamed themselves liberals. They in turn became correctly branded tax and spend Liberals or “Radical Liberals” (Spiro was a blunt instrument but sure could turn a phrase). Now they are back to progressives.
    The problem with allowing what ever you want to call the left participate in government or the press is that they are literally un-constitutional, in the same sense as 7-Up is the un-cola. For instance I’ve noticed that when one asks any lefty, if it’s constitutional to mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, whether they are in government, the press or are considered a pundit one gets the following answer. They immediately start to explain why it’s necessary for everyone to be in the insurance pool for their insurance reform scheme to work. Not for one second do they consider, let alone address the constitutional question. For the left “The United States Constitution” is a meaningless phrase, mumbo jumbo at best some quaint scrap of parchment from some misty distant past. In short the idea of limits to what government may do exceeds their comprehension skills.

  15. Frank
    March 11th, 2010 @ 11:14 pm

    As a native of Wisconsin, birthplace of progressivism, and a political junkie, you might be interested to know that when Bob La Follette gave up on the Progressive movement, he returned to his original party – – Republican. I am not sure he would recognize todays version of either.

  16. Frank
    March 11th, 2010 @ 6:14 pm

    As a native of Wisconsin, birthplace of progressivism, and a political junkie, you might be interested to know that when Bob La Follette gave up on the Progressive movement, he returned to his original party – – Republican. I am not sure he would recognize todays version of either.

  17. keyboard jockey
    March 11th, 2010 @ 11:24 pm

    “Progressives Awaken To The Idea That Americans Hate Progressivism”

    All they had to do was ask, and I would have told them just how unpopular they are.

    http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2010/02/salmons-progressives-down-by-seaside.html

  18. keyboard jockey
    March 11th, 2010 @ 6:24 pm

    “Progressives Awaken To The Idea That Americans Hate Progressivism”

    All they had to do was ask, and I would have told them just how unpopular they are.

    http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2010/02/salmons-progressives-down-by-seaside.html

  19. ECM
    March 12th, 2010 @ 12:00 am

    Joe:

    Progressivism is the New Coke of politics.

    It is socialism with a different name.

    Socialism is Communism in drag.

  20. ECM
    March 11th, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

    Joe:

    Progressivism is the New Coke of politics.

    It is socialism with a different name.

    Socialism is Communism in drag.

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    March 12th, 2010 @ 8:51 am

    […] word ‘liberal’ in the 1980’s.  Smitty, who has been on an eloquence roll lately, slaps Madden upside the head: Look, Madden, you can put whatever label you want on your collectivist ideology. It matters not. […]