Progressivism

Two Hopes For The Future Of Politics: Elizabeth Warren And Ilya Sheyman

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Many Americans are turned off to politics, and have the growing feeling that it makes no difference who you put in office, as they will be beholden to the “special interests”, rather than the citizenry who elects them.

And yet, there is growing hope that some people running for public office in 2012 actually cannot be controlled or owned by lobbyists and special interests, and two of them are: Elizabeth Warren, running for the Massachusetts Senate seat of Scott Brown, who replaced Ted Kennedy in a special election at the beginning of 2010, but who is one of the most “owned” candidates by the big corporations; and an unknown Illinois Congressional candidate in the Tenth District north of Chicago, Ilya Sheyman, attempting to oust a Tea Party Republican freshman named Robert Dold.

Warren is famous for having promoted the passage of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of the major accomplishments of the Obama Presidency. However, the Republicans made it clear that they would oppose her appointment as its head, so Warren turned around and decided to challenge Brown for his Senate seat, and this will be one of the premier stories of 2012, as she inspires many progressives who have hopes for change from the old system that has dominated Washington, DC for so long.

Just as inspiring is the story of 25 year old Soviet Jewish immigrant Ilya Sheyman, who migrated with his parents at age 4 from the Soviet Union. Appearing on UP-WITH CHRIS HAYES on MSNBC this morning, we learned of his motivation to promote the progressive movement, after experience as a community organizer in Waukegan, Illinois; service in the office of Senator Barack Obama; and national Mobilization Director at MoveOn.org.

Warren and Sheyman are both very impressive in their sincerity and commitment at a time when cynicism reigns supreme, so all who care about the future should work to elect Warren and Sheyman and like minded reformers!

The Two Sides Of DC: The Vastly DIfferent Worlds Of Maryland And Virginia!

Ronald 1 Comment

The District of Columbia is surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, and the differences between these two states are vast!

Back in the Civil War period, Maryland remained loyal to the Union, although having slavery and secessionists, while Virginia, with vastly more slaves and more rebels, became the leader of the Confederacy, and had the Confederate capitol at Richmond.

Now, Maryland is one of the most loyal Democratic states, very liberal and progressive, and has Governor Martin O’Malley, who is seen by many as an early favorite competitor for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016. The legislature is heavily Democratic as well.

Meanwhile, Virginia has a possible future competitor for President in 2016 in Governor Bob McDonnell, who also may be a possible Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, if he is the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012. Also, the state legislature is heavily Republican, and now after yesterday’s election, that party will control both houses of the state legislature for only the second time in a century. Social conservatives will wish to promote their agenda as a result, although the northern part of Virginia tends to be very liberal as a bedroom community for the national capital’s work force.

Could two states be more different? That is hard to imagine, and yet it could be, in theory, that O’Malley and McDonnell could be competing against each other’s philosophies and visions and agenda in the Presidential Election of 2016!

Barack Obama And Progressive Disillusionment: What Is The Alternative?

Ronald 1 Comment

With the announcement of a deal on the Debt Ceiling Crisis last night, but still to be voted on today by both houses of Congress without a guarantee of its passage at this moment of writing, the question arises as to what is the future of the progressive movement in America.

Many might say the answer is to give up on Barack Obama and challenge him in the primaries, and or run a candidate on a third party line in November 2012.

If one looks at the history of such efforts, however, it always leads to the worst alternative to progressivism being triumphant!

In November 1967, Senator Eugene McCarthy entered the race for the Presidency against President Lyndon B. Johnson, followed by Senator Robert Kennedy in March 1968, leading to his withdrawal and replacement as the administration candidate by Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The split engendered in the party over the war in Vietnam led to a divided Democratic convention, and the defeat of Humphrey by Richard Nixon, who proceeded to continue the war in Vietnam another four years, something assuredly that would not have happened under a President Humphrey. This tumultuous split in the Democratic Party helped to make for a Republican advantage, and permanently changed the Democratic party, whereby they would only win the Presidency three times out of the next ten national elections.

In late 1979 and early 1980, President Jimmy Carter was challenged in the primaries, for being too moderate and centrist, by both Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Governor Jerry Brown of California. The effect of the primary challenge was to weaken Carter for the campaign, with all of the attacks by Kennedy and Brown used by the Republicans against Carter, and Ronald Reagan won the election, setting back the progressive movement dramatically, still having an effect in 2011!

There was similar discontent among some progressive elements with Bill Clinton in his first term, but no revolt or challenge from within the progressive movement, and Bill Clinton, with his faults and shortcomings, was reelected to a second term, the only Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

So while there can be discontent and disappointment with Barack Obama, that he has not achieved everything that progressives desire, try to imagine President John McCain instead, and try to imagine whether any of the many accomplishments of the Obama Presidency would have been achieved, and the answer is clearly negative.

So when Ralph Nader, who helped to defeat Al Gore by running in Florida in the 2000 election, talks about challenging Barack Obama, the answer is to steer clear of him unless one wants another 2000 election, unless one wants a Republican likely to be further to the right than George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan were in 2000 or 1980.

And when one tries to consider what progressive spokesman could really win the nation in 2012, one comes up empty handed. Certainly, Ralph Nader has no credibility and is seen as fringe in nature. Dennis Kucinich has appeal for some of what he advocates, but has run twice in the Presidential primaries and comes across as loony to many with his personal quirks. Bernie Sanders is appealing to many, but is actually a Socialist, not a Democrat, and could not possibly have broad based appeal. Russ Feingold is probably the most attractive alternative, and has formed Progressives United, an advocacy organization in Madison, WIsconsin, but he is weakened by the loss of his Senate seat in 2010, and it would be better if he ran for Senator Herb Kohl’s Senate seat with Kohl retiring, with a good chance to come back to the Senate in 2012 and promote the progressive cause from that location, in a more constructive manner.

Who else is possible, with any credibility? Realistically, NO ONE, and therefore, there is no alternative but to support Barack Obama, have him and his party fight the good fight over the next 15 months, and work to create a solid majority for progressive causes in the House of Representatives and the Senate!

If that quest is successful, and with a second term and no reelection to face, Barack Obama would likely turn further to the left, stick his neck out, and become more progressive than he has been able to do, logistically, in this first term. With all the criticism that has been and will be made of Barack Obama, he still has the most progressive term in office since Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s with his Great Society!

The Privatization Of America Will Lead To Plutocracy, Instead Of Democracy!

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A very disturbing trend emerging in America is the growing privatization of government functions on the local and state levels in many municipalities and states.

An example is Chicago, which sold control of its parking meters and parking lots to private interests, and the result has been rising costs for travelers, consumers, and businessmen, making the cost of living much higher for the average resident or visitor to Chicago–all this for a quick fix on budgeting, but affecting parking for the next 75 years!

This is a horrible development, and it must be prevented, simply by people taking responsibility for higher taxes and lower services, but not just lower services!

If we continue to allow our infrastructure, as a state road in Indiana as an example, to be sold to private banks and corporations, it means that eventually all or most public services will be under the control of private business, which basically will be able to “blackmail” all of us, and destroy our democracy!

Many think already our country has become a plutocracy–rule of, by, and for the few–and this MUST stop, or else we risk a massive public uprising and riots on the level of what is going on in the Middle East!

Progressives want a return to democracy and the goals of progressivism, originally enunciated a century ago by Robert La Follette, Sr. and many others–political democracy, social justice, and economic regulation and intervention in the public interest!

What is going on today is the antithesis of everything this country is supposed to represent, and the movement to privatize everything must be halted dead in its tracks, as it is private corporations and banks and financial interests on Wall Street who have put us in the mess we are in, and now wish to finish the job of strangling American democracy!

Is “Birther” Conspiracy Theory Resolved By Release By White House Of Certificate Of Live Birth? Don’t Bet On It!

Ronald 2 Comments

Anyone who expects that the White House release of Barack Obama’s Certificate of Live Birth this morning will shut up the “Birthers” conspiracy theory is probably going to be disappointed!

It is absolutely insulting that no other President has ever been so mistreated regarding his birth certificate as Barack Obama!

Face the facts: It is because Barack Obama is black, born of a mixed race parentage, and has a Muslim sounding name that he has been put through this hell by loonies and by Donald Trump and others, with all of them knowing full well that it is a false issue, but doing everything they can to perpetuate it as a political issue, rather than focus on the real problems facing the nation, none of which were caused by Barack Obama, but rather by the Wall Street and corporate world and their Republican allies!

In reality, Obama should not have given in to this bull, but it was an honest attempt to move on and focus on the major issues, even though the opposition does not want to focus on the major issues, but want simply for Obama to fail so they can gain power and take us back to the 19th century Gilded Age!

If half of the registered Republicans in a poll still feel they doubt Obama’s birth in the United States, the answer should be simply to say “Enough of your moronic behavior and sick minds, we are moving ahead and exposing that you all have evil intent, and we will fight you tooth and nail and give you hell as we unite the American people in planning a future, not to be controlled by morons and idiots who only have selfishness and greed in your makeup, and do not give a damn for the future of the nation, unless you control all of the economic and social power! We are not going to allow you monsters to make this a fascist nation, and we will fight to our last breath to make sure you do not accomplish your evil goals!”

How does that sound for a fighting spirit to promote the expansion of progressivism, which has brought about ALL of the political, social, and economic progress of the past century, as the author so enunciates in his introductory statement, under “About the Progressive Professor”?

The Tea Party Movement Revealed: Radical Anarchists Of The Far Right!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Tea Party Movement has now been revealed as what it is: radical anarchists of the FAR Right, a dangerous group that will brook no compromise, and now plans to challenge Speaker of the House John Boehner in the 2012 primaries, because he had the gall to make a compromise deal with Barack Obama and the Democrats to avoid a government shutdown at the last possible moment last evening!

Obama and the Democrats agreed to about $39 billion in budget cuts from the original budget sent by the President, a record amount, which Barack Obama claimed was a victory for common sense.

Actually, the Democrats and Obama gave in too much, but they held out for protection of the environment, the funding of the President’s Health Care law, and continuation of miniscule funding of Planned Parenthood.

Boehner has been in an impossible position having to deal with House freshmen who are totally irresponsible in their demands for massive budget cuts, and have been, unfortunately, assisted in their recklessness by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who has been undermining Boehner all along, as he and Congressman Kevin McCarthy have been working to push Boehner into an untenable position as Speaker.

If one thinks Cantor and McCarthy are “friends” of Boehner, one has to be absolutely blind! We will now see a large negative vote on the permanent budget for the next six months, when it comes up for a vote next week, and Boehner is in great danger of a revolt led by Cantor and McCarthy, and he might wish he had not been elected Speaker! To imagine that John Boehner might be seen in a sympathetic light by some shows how far right the GOP is going!

And if there is a true “Rasputin” of the Far Right, it is Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who has recklessly and irresponsibly promoted a radical attack on Medicare and Medicaid in the fiscal year 2012 budget and beyond, in his role as Chairman of the House Budget Committee!

What Ryan proposes is to make Medicare a voucher system, and put Medicaid under block grants that state governors decide how to dispense, all of which means the total destruction of both programs for future generations of elderly, sick, and poor people, all this at the same time as the plan to defund the President’s Health Care program for all Americans not covered under either plan now!

All this while tax cuts down to 25 percent top rate from 35 percent for the ultra rich top two percent, and also cuts in corporate taxes further, which means an attack on the middle class and the poor, as America is transformed more than ever into a plutocracy, rather than the image of a democracy, in which we have government of, by, and for the people, not the elite rich!

With the concessions made by Obama and the Democrats this time, in the next round there can be NO concessions, as this is a battle for the future of the entire nation, and the plutocracy that has developed MUST be stopped dead in its tracks!

And realize finally that this is not just an economic struggle, but also a social struggle, as the Tea Party Movement has its ugly desire to intervene in people’s private lives, as related to abortion, gay rights, and women’s rights. This is a battle for economic and social justice, the battle fought by progressives and liberals for more than a century, and a constant struggle that one can never rest from, as the far right continues its determination to dictate the continued dominance of an evil, selfish, greedy plutocracy!

The Move Is On: RECALL RICK SCOTT As Governor Of Florida!

Ronald 40 Comments

Florida Governor Rick Scott has managed to alienate just about everyone in seven weeks in office, with his outrageous budget proposals that would destroy the Florida Retirement System and demonstrate total disrespect for the hard work and sacrifices of Florida’s public servants; his arrogance toward the news media and refusal to communicate with the public; and now his rejection of $2.4 billion for a high speed rail project from Orlando to Tampa, as part of the federal commitment to the future of transportation in the United States.

He has succeeded in alienating not just labor, progressives and Democrats, but his own party in the state legislature, which although more than two thirds Republican in both houses, has witnessed shock, dismay and anger at this man who ran against the Republican establishment, basically “bought” the governorship with a $73 million personal fortune investment in the campaign, and now seems not interested in working in a cooperative manner with state Republican leaders.

It is now clear that the legislature, when it meets in March and April, will NOT go along with much of what Governor Scott wishes to impose on the state. With his scandalous and corrupt involvement in Medicare scams in the 1990s, and now his hard line stubbornness and insistence on things being done his way, there will be major battles within his own party as to the direction of the state and its finances!

And now there is the beginning of whispers and more about the idea of passing a state law allowing recall of state officials, something not allowed in the Florida Constitution, but permitted in 18 other states.

If the legislation, proposed by a Democratic state legislator were to be adopted, there would be a four month period to circulate petitions, with signatures required in all 67 counties. At least 15 percent of the total number of votes in the last election would have to be gained. All state officials, including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and state cabinet officials could be recalled.

Since Scott won the Governorship by only about 50,000 votes statewide, it would seem likely that if a recall campaign was mounted, that it would be likely to succeed, because one must remember, many Republicans in the legislature and statewide are clearly uncomfortable with the arrogance and abusive manner of Rick Scott!

Recall is a progressive reform first adopted in Wisconsin under the great progressive governor, Robert LaFollette, Sr. in the early 20th century, and the voice of the people should be heard, not only in Florida, but also in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey, Texas, and other states where the Republican governors are acting in an arrogant, abusive way which harms the states and the citizens they are supposed to serve!

Wisconsin Rises Against Scott Walker’s Threat Of National Guard Intervention Over Public Workers Losing Labor Rights

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Wisconsin, the home of progressivism and Robert La Follette, Sr. a century ago, came through today in a proud tradition of backing labor rights and public employees, with thousands of people descending on the state capital, Madison, in peaceful protests against Governor Scott Walker’s threat of employing the National Guard, as he works to force through the loss of workers’ rights and heavy cuts in pay for state workers to cover health care and pension benefits guaranteed by contract! 🙁

High school and college students joined their teachers and professors, and other state employees, including firefighters, paramedics, police officers, prison guards and others joined them in a massive protest against the strong arm tactics being utilized by Governor Walker.

This may be the equivalent of an American “Egypt”, a beginning of public protest against a Republican Party on the state and national level attempting to destroy everything that has been gained since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal! 🙁

If Wisconsin is able to move ahead and destroy workers’ rights, then it will happen in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida and everywhere. This reminds those of us who remember what it was like in the 1960s when the American people marched for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam.

The quality of public service, and particularly of education of the future generation, will rapidly decline if the attack on workers’ rights by GOP governors is allowed to stand.

This is a battle for the future, while the GOP only is concerned about the elite upper class and the corporations! The country will never be the same if the right wing wins this struggle to return to the past of the 1920s and the Gilded Age! 🙁

Threats Of National Guard Use Against State Workers Unions In Wisconsin: Deplorable! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

As written about by this author a few days ago, Republican Governors and state legislatures are declaring war on government workers–teachers, prison guards, police officers, firefighters, nurses, paramedics, social workers, sanitation workers, librarians and office workers–and setting out to destroy the rights of dedicated workers to have union representation and collective bargaining rights! 🙁

The imposition of pension and health care payments in large amounts on all these workers, plus cutting or freezing of wages, will throw many of these public servants out of the middle class, and in Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker has threatened to call out the National Guard to use force against protesting workers and their demonstrations! 🙁

Is this threat of use of force against state workers to be seen as anything less than imposing dictatorial control over the labor force, and setting out to destroy all labor rights won over the past century in Wisconsin and nationwide? 🙁

Wisconsin, the center of progressivism, the home of Governor Robert LaFollette, Sr, one of the great leaders of the progressive reform movement, now is faced with a leader who is nothing less than a fascist in his approach to labor rights, by threatening violence against the right of assembly! 🙁

Wisconsin is only one of many states with Governors who are “bullies” against labor rights and freedom of expression, including Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, Governor Rick Scott of Florida, and Governor John Kasich of Ohio, all of whom are threatening and imposing similar crackdowns on labor, although none yet have threatened the National Guard use that Scott Walker has suggested in Wisconsin.

Recall elections are allowed in Wisconsin and New Jersey, and action should be taken immediately to implement such an election.

Altogether, 18 states allow recall of state government officials, but sadly, not Florida and Ohio. 🙁

This is a sad, tragic situation that will only have the effect of undermining loyalty and commitment of state workers all around the country, and the American people will see the deleterious effect over time of what the Republican Governors are doing all over the country! 🙁

The Ideological Struggle Of American History: Laissez Faire Vs. Progressivism!

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As we begin the year 2011, the old ideological struggle between laissez faire economics and the progressive tradition is again involved in a great struggle over the future of America.

Laizzez faire celebrates individuality and risk taking, while progressivism promotes the idea of a person’s right to a minimum standard of living and a safety net of protections for all citizens.

So we have the new constitutional debate over the health care law, whether everyone in the United States is entitled to health care coverage. Conservatives regard any expansion of government protections as a threat to capitalism and freedom of choice.

But this battle has raged for a century and more in different ways, such as the following:

1. The 16th Amendment, the federal income tax, which became part of the Constitution in 1913, was called an attack on individual freedom and a threat to the American experiment.

2. Social Security in 1935 was called a plan to make the United States a copy of the Soviet Union.

3. The minimum wage and mandated overtime pay in 1938 were considered steps toward Communism, Marxism, Fascism and Nazism.

4. After Brown V. Board of Education started the modern civil rights movement in 1954, many thought that it would destroy the nation, was an abuse of judicial power, and was unconstitutional.

5. When Medicare was passed in 1965, it was considered unAmerican and a socialist attack on the American economy.  It was denounced by Ronald Reagan as taking away the freedom of the American people.

So passionate opposition has always followed every expansion of the social safety net or promotion of civil rights, but when one looks back, it is obvious that the laissez faire and conservative attacks are just hysteria and promotion of fear by those who don’t wish to promote the ultimate “American dream”, that all of us are entitled to basic human rights, not just the rich and the privileged who just want to deny those rights because it might make it necessary that they part with some of their self centered view of what America is all about!

It is seen as likely that after many constitutional challenges over the next two years, the Supreme Court will uphold the Health Care legislation passed last year, by a 5-4 or 6-3 vote, and in future years, many will look back and wonder why such tumult developed over what will be seen as a basic human right, the right to medical care for everyone–rich, middle class or poor in this nation!