5 Ways People Are Resisting President-Elect Trump from
Rolling Stone Magazine
"From marching in the streets to calling members of
Congress, here's how the Trump resistance is shaping up."
Showing posts with label Progressivism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Progressivism. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2016
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Obama ditches the centrists
How a break from neoliberalism boosted Obama's popularity (Elias Isquith) from Salon
"Obama ditches the centrists: How a break from neoliberalism boosted his popularity
The president's more popular than he's been in nearly two years. Here's why that should have neoliberals scared."
"Obama ditches the centrists: How a break from neoliberalism boosted his popularity
The president's more popular than he's been in nearly two years. Here's why that should have neoliberals scared."
Monday, September 8, 2014
For a Generation, the GOP Blocked Health Care Reform ... for the Sake of a Talking Point
GOP's Obamacare Nightmare Is Coming True: It's Working from Talking Points Memo
"To get a sense of why this is worrying for Republicans in the long run, look no further than conservative strategist Bill Kristol's 1993 memo — "Defeating President Clinton's Health Care Proposal" — warning that reform would paint Democrats as "the generous protector of middle-class
interests" and strike a "punishing blow" to the GOP's anti-government ideology."
"To get a sense of why this is worrying for Republicans in the long run, look no further than conservative strategist Bill Kristol's 1993 memo — "Defeating President Clinton's Health Care Proposal" — warning that reform would paint Democrats as "the generous protector of middle-class
interests" and strike a "punishing blow" to the GOP's anti-government ideology."
Monday, July 7, 2014
A Progressive Supreme Court Agenda
Fantasy Or Forecast on the High Court? from Talking Points Memo
"The recent spate of reactionary decisions by the Roberts Supreme Court — including this week's outrageous Hobby Lobby ruling — triggers thoughts of a better day, when the right wingers on the court will have retired or died, replaced by thoughtful liberals who will restore some semblance of fairness and democracy to this great country. On this July 4th, let's consider what it would be like if our nation's highest court was actually committed to the notion of "liberty and justice for all.""
"The recent spate of reactionary decisions by the Roberts Supreme Court — including this week's outrageous Hobby Lobby ruling — triggers thoughts of a better day, when the right wingers on the court will have retired or died, replaced by thoughtful liberals who will restore some semblance of fairness and democracy to this great country. On this July 4th, let's consider what it would be like if our nation's highest court was actually committed to the notion of "liberty and justice for all.""
Monday, June 30, 2014
Clinton's Real Strength in the Democratic Party
How Hillary Won Over the Skeptical Left (Noam Scheiber) from the New Republic
"The surprising source of Clinton's invincibility."
"The surprising source of Clinton's invincibility."
Friday, June 27, 2014
A More Nuanced Political Spectrum in the US?
America's Ideological Splits Aren't As Simple As Left, Right And Center from the Huffington Post
"The report divides the American public into eight groups, many of which defy the traditional liberal/conservative boundaries. Of those, the three most consistently partisan are also the most over-represented in the political sphere, making up just a combined 36 percent of the public, but 57 percent of the politically engaged Americans who regularly vote and pay attention to the news."
I took the online test and came out as a solid liberal, as I expected. But where I am in a distinct minority (5%) is my view that peace comes from military strength more than diplomacy. I believe that the mere threat of overwhelming force is enough to cause most states to carefully consider the consequences of their actions. The Dayton Accords that successfully ended the Bosnian War were held at a massive U.S.A.F. base, not a Vancouver cannabis café. If civility and comity where more critical to world peace than arms, New Zealand would be known more for the arbitration of world affairs than as the filming location of the Hobbit.
"The report divides the American public into eight groups, many of which defy the traditional liberal/conservative boundaries. Of those, the three most consistently partisan are also the most over-represented in the political sphere, making up just a combined 36 percent of the public, but 57 percent of the politically engaged Americans who regularly vote and pay attention to the news."
I took the online test and came out as a solid liberal, as I expected. But where I am in a distinct minority (5%) is my view that peace comes from military strength more than diplomacy. I believe that the mere threat of overwhelming force is enough to cause most states to carefully consider the consequences of their actions. The Dayton Accords that successfully ended the Bosnian War were held at a massive U.S.A.F. base, not a Vancouver cannabis café. If civility and comity where more critical to world peace than arms, New Zealand would be known more for the arbitration of world affairs than as the filming location of the Hobbit.
Posted by: hopeandespair
The big caveat I would add here is that you have to do both the military and diplomatic pieces, and you have to do both of them well! Looking back on the 2nd Bush administration, they did the military part with gross incompetence and ... simply didn't do diplomacy at all. While I could be wrong, looking back on W's eight years in office, there were zero (0) diplomatic breakthroughs at any of the world's hotspots (or even lukewarm spots). Based on the hysterical invective being directed at Obama for the last six years around his diplomatic missions, I've concluded that the core of the Republican Party and the far right foreign policy "establishment" right now simply don't believe in diplomacy. Period. The thing that is most concerning to me around this development, is that it has been SO LONG since Republicans actually caused anything diplomatically, that the how-to-do-it-effectively chops are beginning to pass out of their institutional memory. Think about it. Bush 1 did this stuff pretty effectively. That was twenty-two years ago!! When was the last time you saw Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, or even Colin Powell (on a foreign policy matter)? The "effective ones" are persona non grata while the authors of a "total fail" approach get ALL the air time! -- Nuggetsman
The big caveat I would add here is that you have to do both the military and diplomatic pieces, and you have to do both of them well! Looking back on the 2nd Bush administration, they did the military part with gross incompetence and ... simply didn't do diplomacy at all. While I could be wrong, looking back on W's eight years in office, there were zero (0) diplomatic breakthroughs at any of the world's hotspots (or even lukewarm spots). Based on the hysterical invective being directed at Obama for the last six years around his diplomatic missions, I've concluded that the core of the Republican Party and the far right foreign policy "establishment" right now simply don't believe in diplomacy. Period. The thing that is most concerning to me around this development, is that it has been SO LONG since Republicans actually caused anything diplomatically, that the how-to-do-it-effectively chops are beginning to pass out of their institutional memory. Think about it. Bush 1 did this stuff pretty effectively. That was twenty-two years ago!! When was the last time you saw Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, or even Colin Powell (on a foreign policy matter)? The "effective ones" are persona non grata while the authors of a "total fail" approach get ALL the air time! -- Nuggetsman
Friday, June 20, 2014
The Quiet in the Democratic Primary Season
The Left's Quiet Advance in Democratic Primaries (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"Progressives tout their victories as proof they're successfully pushing the party to adopt bolder ideological stands."
"Progressives tout their victories as proof they're successfully pushing the party to adopt bolder ideological stands."
Monday, June 9, 2014
New Deal Rising?
If the Left Had a Tea Party… (David Sirota) from Politico Magazine
"Dan Cantor and the making of a liberal uprising. ... Cantor had been trying both to maximize his party’s new power in New York and to use that success to forge a national opportunity. His goal, he told me, is nothing less than a resurrection of the powerful progressive coalition that shaped the New Deal era."
RANT ALERT: It seems to be the day for kicking the legacy of the baby boom generation. In my view, the left HAD a Tea Party -- multiple Tea Parties back in the late 1960s and thru most of the 1970s. So many on the far left of the time (think much of what came out of the "New Left" and the political activists who came out of the Hippies) were either egregious amateurs with good causes -- or nut cases in pursuit of idiotic causes. Such could easily be said about the Tea Party now. Was Abbey Hoffman really any less nutty or offensive than Sharon Angle or Sheriff Joe Arpaio? The era was rife with so many out-to-lunch lefties, folks that had no use for organized labor or the white working class generally -- and, for reasons that are still unclear to me, the Dems seemed to draw these people like flies. It would take 20+ years for the Democrats to largely rid themselves of these loony tunes. Did some good come from these diverse groups? Sure -- the modern environmental movement was a huge beneficiary of their activism -- but their cultural and generational cluelessness needlessly alienated millions of people who ran from the Democratic Party in droves. Fortunately, I feel confident it will take just as long if not longer for the current GOP to shake loose from the extremists that now populate their party.
"Dan Cantor and the making of a liberal uprising. ... Cantor had been trying both to maximize his party’s new power in New York and to use that success to forge a national opportunity. His goal, he told me, is nothing less than a resurrection of the powerful progressive coalition that shaped the New Deal era."
RANT ALERT: It seems to be the day for kicking the legacy of the baby boom generation. In my view, the left HAD a Tea Party -- multiple Tea Parties back in the late 1960s and thru most of the 1970s. So many on the far left of the time (think much of what came out of the "New Left" and the political activists who came out of the Hippies) were either egregious amateurs with good causes -- or nut cases in pursuit of idiotic causes. Such could easily be said about the Tea Party now. Was Abbey Hoffman really any less nutty or offensive than Sharon Angle or Sheriff Joe Arpaio? The era was rife with so many out-to-lunch lefties, folks that had no use for organized labor or the white working class generally -- and, for reasons that are still unclear to me, the Dems seemed to draw these people like flies. It would take 20+ years for the Democrats to largely rid themselves of these loony tunes. Did some good come from these diverse groups? Sure -- the modern environmental movement was a huge beneficiary of their activism -- but their cultural and generational cluelessness needlessly alienated millions of people who ran from the Democratic Party in droves. Fortunately, I feel confident it will take just as long if not longer for the current GOP to shake loose from the extremists that now populate their party.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Conservative Lead on Social and Economic Ideology Shrinking
On Social issues, 34% Identify as Conservative and 30% as Liberal (Jeffrey M. Jones) from Gallup
"More Americans continue to identify themselves as conservatives than as liberals on economic and social matters. However, the conservative advantage on each dimension is shrinking from higher points in recent years, down to 21 points on economic policy and four points on social policy."
"More Americans continue to identify themselves as conservatives than as liberals on economic and social matters. However, the conservative advantage on each dimension is shrinking from higher points in recent years, down to 21 points on economic policy and four points on social policy."
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