Cross-posted from ProgressivePolitics

"American has become a center-right party"

You'll here it repeated like a mantra, that great shibboleth accepted by most...including liberal journalists like E.J. Dionne and Noam Scheiber.  

It flashes like a warning signal for Democrats, screaming "Don't even think about standing up for what you really believe in...you'll only be steamrolled by an unstoppable conservative juggernaut."  Only, is it really true?  I happen to feel that "conservative" dominance of the ideological heart of the United States is overblown...bigtime.  Perhaps this is the reason why an article by Paul Waldman from the American Prospect Online caught my attention.

Cross-posted from ProgressivePolitics

Yesterday on Meet the Press, the chairman of the DCCC, Rahm Emanuel, did a nice job of succinctly putting forth five ideas that could at least form the core of a Democratic "Contract with America" for 2006.  Of course, I should be muted in my approbation of the chairman, since many in our side of the blogosphere have a predilection for attacking anyone who comes close to showing support for "establishment" Democrats, but I think that this rhetoric from the Chairman is a step in the right direction:

More below the fold

I had not planned to write on this particular topic because everything that I would say has already been said, but the President's press conference this morning pushed me over the edge.  More below the fold

Crossposted from ProgressivePolitics

Following my previous post on the importance of Movement Politics - which addressed mainly the importance of a shared, coherent progressive ideology, vision, "change" agenda, and set of frames in providing a sense of cohesion when attempting to unify disparate groups - I began to ponder, the function and character of the different components that will actually comprise any broad-based progressive movement.  Specifically, what types of organizational infrastructure and human and social capital is needed to put this unified movement into motion, and how can progressives unify single-issue groups that are currently not joined in any meaningful way.

Cross-posted from ProgressivePolitics

As the recent abysmal approval/disapproval ratings of President Bush and the Congress demonstrate, there is broad dissatisfaction with the current direction of our country.  There is  also a fantastic new Democracy Corps focus group report - "The Cultural Divide and the Challenge of Winning Back Rural and Red State Voters" - with results that should both be inspiring and instructive, but, nonetheless, results that must be taken into consideration by all Democrats when fashioning an agenda for 2006.

Crossposted from ProgressivePolitics

Political movements are commonly defined as the collective actions of disparate groups that are directed towards specific political and social issues and, more importantly, the advancement of widespread political change.  Lately I have been doing a great deal of thinking about the state of the traditional liberal/progressive coalition, as well as the central role that a broad-based progressive movement must play in the resurgence of the Democratic Party.  It is my contention that the building blocks of a modern progressive movement are in place, including those that are casting about without a stronger ideological grounding (single-issue and other grassroots political activists), those that are fledgling (progressive think-tanks and progressive talk-radio), and those that are struggling to regain their former strength (labor).  Continued belowv

Cross posted at ProgressivePolitics

On many quality of life issues, including the quality of education, health care, the environment, the general public seems to believe that the United States is near the top relative to other countries. Where does the United States really stand? You may be surprised.

The unconventional and highly unpredictable nature of the terrorist attack that occurred today in London demonstrates that we can never truly be safe from attacks such as this.  Addressing this threat only with conventional military and homeland security methods and current  is highly ineffective, and as we know, only serves to generate more fanatical and highly motivated recruits for terrorist organizations.  For this reason, this is why we must generate a true agenda for dealing with the underlying causes of Islamic terrorism - the humiliation, the occupation, the poverty, the ignorance.