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Can Democrats Be Divided?

There has been a transformation in the Democratic Party. And it's a subtle transformation that I don't think many people are seeing. Based on the language I hear in conservative media today, it’s clear to me that conservatives see the term “progressive” as nothing more than a euphemism for “liberal”. I believe there is more to this new term than just “rebranding”. I think there is a significant division among Democrats, and we have an opportunity to capitalize on that.

In 1995, after the Dems lost Congress, a large number of left wingers left the Democratic party and formed the New Party. We're talking communists and socialists here. They started calling themselves "progressives". Now, obviously, progressive has been a political ideology for a very long time, both on the Republican and Democratic sides. But it is my belief that radical left-wingers have co-opted this word because, unlike "liberal", it is not (YET) charged with negative connotation. They chose this name for themselves, though, to differentiate themselves from liberals, whom they feel are too far to the RIGHT for their tastes. There is a paper written by the founder of the New Party, called After Liberalism, that details what I'm talking about. You will see that they definitely do not consider themselves liberal. And I think it's critical that we begin to recognize this shift, and to identify them as a very different group from liberals.

So the question you may be asking is, why should we distinguish between progressives and liberals? What's the difference? Well, I feel that it is hugely important because, whenever we refer to liberals, we refer to a wide spectrum of political ideals ranging from communism to moderate liberalism. While communism is clearly bad, and must be defeated at every opportunity, lesser brands of liberalism tend to come from good-hearted people who want only to advocate for the common man, the working class, and the poor. I would contend that the majority of traditional Democrats fall into this compassionate or religious liberalism category, and have no more interest in socialism or communism than we conservatives. Sure, there are other social differences like abortion, etc. But on the economic issues, we tend to lump all gradients of the left into one group, and call them the enemy. In so doing, we create a powerful and often unified voting block that opposes all Republican candidates. But in reality, many of them, the kinds of voters attracted to Ronald Reagan, can be persuaded to vote for Republican candidates over more radical left-wing Democratic ones. 

If we can break from this sense of "conservative vs. liberal", and put a name on the far left, then we divide that voting block, and make ourselves stronger. By naming themselves "progressives", they have given us that opportunity. We can shine a light on these progressives who have hijacked the Democratic Party and are moving it too far to the left. Groups like PUMA are ripe for this kind of transformation. I believe we're looking at a split in the Democratic Party. And if we can seize on this, it can have a significant effect on the future governance of this country.

I’ve posted numerous times here about the Progressive movement, if you’d like to learn more. Here are some valuable links:

Article on Center for American Progress

Wikipedia entry on Congressional Progressive Caucus

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A New Beginning

If Barack Obama wins the election, and Democrats secure a super majority over Congress, I agree with Obama that it will be a new "beginning" for this country.  It will be the beginning of the end for the far left progressives who have been governing this country from the shadows, unwilling to step up and make their intentions known to the American people.  Once these Democrats get what they have wanted for so long, a monopoly on the US government, their policies will become clear, and there will be nowhere for them to hide, nobody else for them to blame, when those policies prove themselves dangerous.  And if our country can weather the economic collapse and military and terrorist attacks from at home and abroad that are sure to come in the next two years, we will have the opportuntiy to put this dangerous flirtation with far left ideology behind us and begin to restore our economic and military strength.  With any luck, two years is all it will take for us to backtrack from this radical detour and return to the prosperous road that we have been on since the 1980s.  And once we're back on the right road, we can begin to address the problems that have been bumps on that road with energy independence, medical tort reform, financial regulation and governmental reform.

Beginning with the first day of an Obama presidency, we have an opportunity to show Americans, first hand, the failures of far left progressive policies.  Just remember how much damage Democrats did the last time they had such a blank check, in 1992 and 1993.  The policies they tried to enact resulted in the Republican Revolution of 1994.  I expect this to be an even more profound push toward socialist policies, because unlike in 1992, Democrats now have, as support for their agenda, what they are calling the "greatest economic disaster since the Great Depression".  Do not be surprised, then, to see the greatest growth in government since the New Deal.  In the mind of progressive Democrats, American needs the same hand-out and leg up that the New Deal provided.  That most economic experts expect this recession to last until sometime next year doesn't seem to deter them.  They will have their depression.  Count on it.

If, as I believe, there is a backlash against these far left progressive policies, I think it's critical that it is not merely a Republican movement.  It is critical that it is also a movement by the Democratic voters to repel those progressives from their party and return it to its more moderate position of advocating for the working man within the framework of a capitalist system and democratic government.  They must recognize that the progressives within their party are advocating for radical change, a change which would replace free markets with government control, and which would, necessarily, decrease our personal freedoms in order to maintain that control.

There is little tolerance in this country for the extremes of either political party.  Though it is usually difficult for extremists to win power in this country, a number of factors have combined to give the far left extremists a very real shot at unchecked power in this country over the next two years.  This is the true test of the strength of our democracy.  When these extremists control the White House, Congress, the court system, and the media, what can stand against them if they choose to enact policies that are against the will of the people?  The last line of defense is the people.  If, as our founders intended, the people are the true power in this country, we will regain control of this country within two years.  If that is not the case, it could well be the beginning of the end of this great American experience.

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