Feeling PROGRESSIVE

[DemocracyMouse]

I think the Democrats are awesome... and they are getting awesomer. A dawning of consciousness is occuring. Young and old alike in the party are realizing that maybe our traditional (pre-Bill Clinton), new deal, anti-war, pro-education platform is back with a vengeance. By LEADING WITH GUSTO, not by hedging bets and pussy-footing around. That's what the French economist Thomas Pickety is inferring when he wrote in a 174 page paper (with charts!) that Democrats will win more votes this November by confidently "moving left."

I also think that Democrats have been moving to a more progressive platform since Bush Jr. screwed up the Middle East (and produced thousands of dead US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of others deaths, displacement, refugees, etc.), and royally trounced our economy. History has proven what a disaster conservative positions on a lot of things have been: rolling back bank regulations like the Glass-Steagel Act (gee thanks, Bill C.), the environment, extreme incarceration policies (wtf Bill!), the persecution of African Americans and LGTBQ Americans, the nightmarish plunge into the Middle East after a phony case for WMDs...

What is clear to many, including Picketty, is that a younger group of Democrats (and disaffected independents) are HUNGRY for change and are REALLY UPSET about their dreams of a better life being dashed due to deep structural changes in the system which are pushing all the wealth up to the top tiers of society. Meanwhile the older, career Democrats are doing some of the right things (finally), but are emotionally behind the bulk of the Democrats.

The point is this:

We will win a lot more friggin' VOTES if the older and younger Democrats can find common ground and work together. This means the younger Dems learn about the mechanics of the ground game, and the established Dems show some EMPATHY for left-leaning, champing-at-the-bit majority. I've seen local Dem meetings explode in membership and I've seen the die-hards Dems welcome the new blood – but with anxiety instead of joy. The establishment needs to let go of the Bill Clinton era restraint (and I'm referring ONLY to the man who killed the Glass-Steagel act and supported laws that abusively pushed hundreds of thousands of African Americans into prisons) and start moving in more concert with this new, internet-savvy generation like the Parkland students and Black Lives Matter.

I think, frankly, we're almost there.

[Wwcd]

1. OMFG.

Edit to add:

[SidDithers]

2. Exactly...nt

Sid

[Wwcd]

4. That's not PROGRESSIVE being felt.

Sad hit piece on the many brilliant policies of President Clinton.


This bs needs to be removed.

[leftstreet]

3. DURec

Nicely stated

[Wwcd]

5. Bull shit. Its a one liner hit piece.

[leftstreet]

6. Direct your complaints to the OP, not me

I thought it was well written, and s/he makes some valid observations

[Wwcd]

7. Left out quite a few PROGRESSiVE policies & political advances made by

President Bill Clinton.

Talk about using the RW playbook to advance the divide.

No it is a hit piece & far, far from PROGRESSIVE

[leftstreet]

9. Take it up with the OP

I didn't write it

[Wwcd]

10. You thought highly enough to post about it. With salutations of Feeling Progressive.

Btw..President Bill Clinton was one of the many long line of Progressive Presidents.

We'd have had 4 more yrs of GHW Bush if not for his campaign.
He pulled us out of the debt of another war monger for oil Bush & put the books in balance.

He gathered the Black voters & gave them power in the voting booth.
Something So Progressive that the RW stepped up their gerrymandering game to extreme.
That's for starters.


So while your need to applaud another Clinton hit piece & grab onto it like a banner of Progressivism, you should perhaps educate yourselves as to the landmark Progressive policies of the Democrats this guy loves to label as a negative.

This is a hit piece on the Democratic Party & the very Progressive President Bill Clinton.

Educate yourselves about ALL of Clinton's policies & progressive political advances before you jump on another article intended to pit label against label.

[leftstreet]

13. We're still free to recommend OPs here, right?

I've been recommending OPs here for years and years without being asked to explain myself or justify my actions.

[Wwcd]

14. Rec all you want.

Its a bs hit piece.

Imho
Dont know how anyone can see it any other way.

Thanks for driving the division deeper

[NCTraveler]

8. There is some excellent wisdom here combined with extreme deception.

Very interesting.

"This means the younger Dems learn about the mechanics of the ground game"

Is that a polite way of saying they need to find their voting precinct?

I haven't seen the word "establishment" abused like this since the last time Sanders gobbled up a microphone.

[Wwcd]

11. Exactly. Thank you.

Much like Sanders himself, use the Dem Party to learn their ground game & ditch them when they've taught you well.
Use them for all you can, while you can.
"MONEY & MEDIA".
Oh ya, never miss a chance to keep the powerful Progressive Democratic Clintons from rising up because if they do, our game is fked.

Tea Party to the Right & Tea Party to the Left



Oh yes, thats reeeeal Progressive.

[blake2012]

12. K&R

[Initech]

15. We need a neo-Renaissance movement.

The current political climate is so toxic and vile that we need to get away from it and just shut the whole thing down and start over with an emphasis on intellectualism and diversity. That will pay for itself a million times over. We kind of experienced what this was like under Obama, only to have the movement crushed by Putin and Trump. But now that we're seeing how important it is to get out the vote, it's time to do this. We need to get America out of the dark ages and away from the hate mongers that have destroyed everything they touch in the last 40 - 50 years. We need to put emphasis on people, not corporate profits. We need to put emphasis on what resources we have, and not have everything be about money.

[Wwcd]

17. Hate mongers are still here spreading the same hate & division that gave us Trump & threatens2018/20

They gave it a label & watched as those who are after the same thing point & criticize & claim to be better than the other.

Why do you think Hillary Clinton was so silenced.
If her policy platform had been given public access they division of labelling one against the other would have died a quick death.

It was the most PROGRESSIVE platform we have seen.
How many even here on DU ever bothered to know what she intended for this country.
Her policy platform was silenced thru every possible method availible.

It is still here.

[zipplewrath]

16. Let's start by putting away old arguments

Even though there might be things in here with which I could agree, I think much of the current surge is coming from people who don't even remember Clinton, or care much about our 3 decades old fights.

I think the way to move forward is to establish what we stand for, and not get bogged down in "we already tried that" kind of internal arguments. It's a new decade coming, it's a new century, and a new millennium and a new generation is getting involved, and to some extent will soon be leading.

Three years ago, the party was in the worst shape since reconstruction. We are now moving in a very good direction. I'd suggest we all take a look at where that is going and see if we agree. If so, we can start "running" that way together.

[DemocracyMouse]

18. Wow, you still won't kill my progressive zeal.

We really should be honest about our past mistakes. Being honest makes us stronger, not weaker.

But I agree 100% with the need for a Renaissance. The Black community, the LGBTQ community, and the progressives who are honest enough and patient enough to research things like "3 Strikes You're Out" and the Glass-Steagal Act are due a lot more respect.

Onward!

[Wwcd]

19. LGBT Community & Democratic President & 1st Lady Hillary Clinton

Yes. HONEST ENOUGH TO RESEARCH.


?w=768&h=1024

My friend Keith Molter shares his story of being at the Quilt in Washington DC in 1996 when by chance he witnessed Bill and Hillary Clinton visit the Quilt seeking out a specific quilt made in honor of a longtime friend of hers. Keith recalls:

It was stone silent on the vast Washington Mall. No fanfare. No hoopla. They simply went and we had stumbled upon it.

Silence. Stillness. They got out of their motorcade hand in hand and walked through the Quilt.

It was THE first time it was ever acknowledged by anyone of any higher level in government. They stood. They prayed. They looked at a few other panels. They wiped tears. We were 100 feet away. As they turned to leave, the still silence was broken by a squelching sound, like an animal in deep pain. It was me screaming “Thank you!” through my sobs, my voice cracking. They both turned. He put his hand up in a still wave and nodded his head -his mouth doing that mouth/chin thing he does. They turned and left.

I was there. They were there – maybe too late for some that we lost. But they were there as soon as they could – once the country elected two people who actually cared.

Read More....
https://johnsmithchicago.com/2016/01/27/bernie-who-hillarys-been-there-for-lgbt/