Excerpt:

This diary at Daily Kos says that bloggers are more mainstream than everyone else thinks…

This is a theme that I have written a lot about in the past, but have failed to discuss recently. In November 2006, I wrote about an article by David Sirota, who tells what is wrong with centrism…

That’s really the problem with the term - and with Washington’s definition of it. “Centrism” as defined in the political dialogue today means “being in the middle of elite opinion in Washington, D.C.” But if you plot this “center” on the continuum that is American public opinion, you will find that it is nowhere near the actual center of the country at large. The center of elite Washington opinion is ardently free trade, against national health care, opposed to market regulation, for continuing the Iraq War, and supportive of the flattest tax structure we’ve had in contemporary American history. That center is on the extreme fringe of the center of American public opinion, which is ardently skeptical of free trade, for universal health care, supportive of strong market regulations, insistent that the war end soon, and in favor of making the tax system more progressive.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Former Sen. Gary Hart (D-CO) wrote an article at the Huffington Post that looks at the Iraq War vote and the judgment of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. However, what stuck out from the article was Hart’s conclusion about the effects of centrism on the political process and the Democratic Party.

“Triangulation” and “centrism” may have led to eight years of a Democratic presidency in the 1990s.. But it also blurred the principles of the Democratic party. It led young politicians to believe that the safest course was in some vague middle ground. And, tragically, it led too many Democrats to believe they had to prove their national security credentials by voting for any military misadventure right wing hawks could think up.

This nation needs a president who will question the conventional wisdom, who will exercise skepticism concerning foreign entanglements, who will have the courage to resist pressure from the narrow-minded bellicose right, who will admit to error when major mistakes are made, and who can look farther over the horizon than most of us. Most of all, we need a president who can restore America’s honor, respect, and moral authority in the world.

That president is not Senator Clinton. That president is Barack Obama.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Glenn Greenwald has an interesting article as Salon about what bipartisanship actually means.

But more importantly, “bipartisanship” is already rampant in Washington, not rare. And, in almost every significant case, what “bipartisanship” means in Washington is that enough Democrats join with all of the Republicans to endorse and enact into law Republican policies, with which most Democratic voters disagree. That’s how so-called “bipartisanship” manifests in almost every case.

Many people, especially partisans, always believe that their own side is compromising too much and that the other side is always winning, so it’s best to consult objective facts in order to know how “bipartisanship” works. Here are the vote breakdowns by party over the last couple years on the most significant and contentious pieces of legislation, particularly (though not only) in the area of national security.

In almost every case, the proposals that are enacted are ones favored by the White House and supported by all GOP lawmakers, and then Democrats split and enough of them join with Republicans to ensure that the GOP gets what it wants.

Greenwald then lists through a bunch of votes that nearly all of the Republicans voted for it and the Democrats are split.

One reason for this is the demise of the moderate Republicans in congress.

Today, however, the animal on the brink of extinction comes from Congress’ own ranks: moderate House Republicans.

Their numbers have long been in decline, they were nearly wiped out in the midterm elections, and 2008 looks to be another bad year for this proud creature.

Republicans have long been purging their party of moderates, even encouraging primary opponents to run against moderate incumbents. However, Democrats are often very happy to continue to send incumbents back to Congress that continually vote against the interest of the Democratic party and against the interests of the people they represent.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Paul Krugman has an article that shows how the country is becoming more liberal. He cites polls that show Americans agreeing with liberal positions and the elections of progressives in red states in 2006.

Krugman then discusses the need for progressives to take advantage of that shift by pushing ahead on bold ideas.

The question, however, is whether Democrats will take advantage of America’s new liberalism. To do that, they have to be ready to forcefully make the case that progressive goals are right and conservatives are wrong. They also need to be ready to fight some very nasty political battles.

And that’s where the continuing focus of many people on Bush, rather than the movement he represents, has become a problem.

Krugman concludes…

So, here’s my worry: Democrats, with the encouragement of people in the news media who seek bipartisanship for its own sake, may fall into the trap of trying to be anti-Bushes—of trying to transcend partisanship, seeking some middle ground between the parties.

That middle ground doesn’t exist—and if Democrats try to find it, they’ll squander a huge opportunity. Right now, the stars are aligned for a major change in America’s direction. If the Democrats play nice, that opportunity may soon be gone.

As Ned Lamont stated no one is looking for a moderate to run their company, they want someone who stands up for their strong beliefs. The idea of a moderate is a trap because the term moderate is defined in the political dialogue today means “being in the middle of elite opinion in Washington, D.C.”

The dismal approval ratings of the President and of Congress shows that Americans are overwhelmingly disappointed in their government. This is not because of partisan bickering, but because it seems that both parties represent corporate profit instead of the people that elected them.

The 2006 elections showed that candidates that run on a platform of economic populism win regardless of what state they come from. People are looking for candidate that have the courage to push big ideas, not ones that run to the middle.

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

I saw this on Democratic Underground and thought I’d share it. It is a translation guide to use while listening to a DLC candidate speak.When They Say: PragmaticThey Mean: CorporatistExample: “Rahm Emanuel’s campaign was a pragmatic success.”When They…

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Glenn Greenwald had a post yesterday that discusses how the beliefs of the right-wing and corporate media represents a fringe of the American people. The gap between (a) the core beliefs of the right-wing movement and their media allies and (b) the vas…

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

Listen up all centrists and so-called moderates. Ned Lamont had this to say at the Take Back America Conference about healthcare reform…”If you’re an entrepreneur in business, you’re a progressive in government. Because you see problems and you want…

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

I went to the public library a couple weeks ago to check out a specific book, but they didn’t have it in. Not wanting to go home empty handed, I browsed the shelves and found the latest book by former Sen. Gary Hart called The Courage of our Convictio…

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

David Sirota writes on the Huffington Post about the connection between corporate lobbyists and Democrats in Washington. Sirota tells about one lobbyist, J. Jonathon Jones…”In 2003, Jones played an instrumental role in organizing a regular meeting o…

Related Posts:

Excerpt:

I found a great article by George Lakoff on Common Dreams called Building on the Progressive Victory. I recommend reading the entire article as it outlines the tug of war going in the Democratic Party between Centrists and Progressives and shows how p…

Related Posts: