The Progressive Message Wins

Filed in National by on April 1, 2014

Someone challenged a DL blogger to name recent progressive victories.  Here is a very partial list.

Candidates:  Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom, Elizabeth Warren,  Kamala Harris, Sherrod Brown, Debbie Stabenow, Amy Klobuchar, Jean Shaheen, Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, Mazie Hirono, Chris Murphy, Maggie Hassan, Ann Kuster, Carol Porter, Alan Grayson, Peter Shumlin, Bob Filner, Pete Gallegos, Bill de Blasio………the list goes on with many local offices.

Places:  NYC, Seattle, Colorado, California, Vermont, Connecticut, Charlotte, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Missoula…..for example.

Issues victories/progress:  Local minimum wage, ALEC hurt, gay marriage, check stop and frisk, slow meta-data collection, Obamacare, Larry Summers stopped, filibuster reform, some foreclosure protection, slow war on drugs, fuel efficiency, deportation relief, TPP bogged down……

Feel free to add your two cents.

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  1. PainesMe says:

    That list of places isn’t exactly the best argument for why Landrieu/Hagan/Barrow/Rahall/etc should follow a similar model.

  2. No, but it’s a great argument for D’s pushing for progressive candidates rather than settling for corporatocrats. Like we do in Delaware.

    Of course, when close-to-infinite bucks roughly equates to electability, it’s a lot tougher. Right now, the game is rigged and the system is broken.

  3. Geezer says:

    Bob Filner? Jesus H. Christ, you’re so desperate to make a point you’ll bring up a serial sexual abuser?

  4. Geezer says:

    Some list. According to That’s My Congress, the only “strong liberal” among the senators you listed is Sanders.

    Most, including Warren, are listed as “somewhat liberal,” scoring from 50 to 63 on their 100-point scale. Stabenow is listed as “weakly liberal,” with a 38 score, the same as Coons (Carper gets a 25, the same as Republican Lisa Murkowski).

    Local offices shouldn’t be in the discussion, as nobody debates the existence of pockets of liberal voters. Clearly, though, In statewide elections, progressivism is not trending, as the kidz sez.

    Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom, , Kamala Harris, Sherrod Brown, Debbie Stabenow, Amy Klobuchar, Jean Shaheen, Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, Mazie Hirono, Chris Murphy, Maggie Hassan, Ann Kuster, Carol Porter, Alan Grayson, Peter Shumlin, Bob Filner, Pete Gallegos, Bill de Blasio
    Jeanne Shaheen: 63

  5. puck says:

    With a Dem Senate and Dem President we still managed to cut food stamps.

  6. Geezer says:

    And our Democratic president, like Delaware’s entire Congressional delegation, still wants to slash benefits in a “grand bargain.”

  7. Steve Newton says:

    Issues victories/progress: Local minimum wage, ALEC hurt, gay marriage, check stop and frisk, slow meta-data collection, Obamacare, Larry Summers stopped, filibuster reform, some foreclosure protection, slow war on drugs, fuel efficiency, deportation relief, TPP bogged down……

    You don’t get to claim marriage equality, check stop and frisk, slow meta-data collection, slow war on drugs, or TPP bogged down as “progressive” victories.

    A lot of other folks who are not Progressives were either there with you or ahead of you on those issues. In fact, a lot of people are out there to end meta-data collection, end the drug war, stop TPP, end stop and frisk.

    Just because you advocate for a particular cause does not make it exclusively yours.

  8. Steve, I certainly didn’t claim exclusivity for Progressives on these issues and certainly you credit Progressives with being astute enough to collaborate with allies on these issues which are on the Progressive bucket list ? We can hopefully also agree that Progressives and others with a shared ideology cross-fertilize through engagement in other movements/organizations focusing on all kinds of reform….ie: GLBT rights, environment, economic justice, retirement security, health care, on and on and on. True also that reform movements often/usually are created by visionary radicals, not party operatives and legislators. But in most cases after the radical patriots mobilize sufficient public support, the party operatives and legislators step in and codify the reform with law.