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A Donald Trump supporter and a young protestor get into a heated debate outside the U.S. Cellular Center before a Trump rally on Sept. 12, 2016. Ever since the election, the left has been tarred in the United States as being hopelessly out of touch.(Photo: Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com)Buy Photo

So, ever since the election of the groper-in-chief, the man who mocks the handicapped, routinely lies about the most mundane facts, and can't seem to come clean about his Russian connection, the left has been tarred in this country as being hopelessly out of touch.

Or worse. Apparently, if you're a progressive, liberal, Democrat or even lean left, you're just an idiot. This came home hard for me last week when I got into a heated argument with a relative, who wondered why the press is being so mean to President Trump for lying and suggesting former President Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped while lingering on these strange Russian doings.

So, I went off. To lay the groundwork, I consider myself a pretty moderate personpolitically. I have voted for some Republicans in the past and in some Republican primaries, but I'll be honest: I usually vote Democratic, or more accurately for people I feel want real progress.

And here's why: Progressives have usually been right in this country on the big issues, the ones that really affect our daily lives.

Now let's not confuse being progressive with one party or the other, as the progressives of the mid-late 1800s and early-mid 1900s were Republicans, including Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. They wanted progress for society, whether it was freedom for slaves or the preservation of pristine lands as national parks.

Democrats, the conservatives of the day, wanted what conservatives have always wanted: to keep things exactly the same, and that means no progress. So yes, Southern conservatives wanted to preserve slavery, because that was the way of life, the pillar of their economy.

So this is a conservative-progressive argument. The parties change, but the philosophies do not.

I'll also say I don't think either side has all the answers or is right all the time.

Generally speaking, progressives tend to spend others' money a little too freely, boost taxes too much, and probably don't demand as much personal responsibility as I would like. Republicans often have a keener business sense on controlling waste, believe government should stay out of the people's way as much as possible, and they want people to be more independent and less reliant on the government.

But looking at the big picture, the historical flow, conservatives have proven themselves to be wrong on the big issues over and over. Allow me to go scattershot: They've opposed freedom for slaves, opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, opposed women's voting rights, opposed the 40-hour work week and restrictions on child labor (really, they oppose anything that can cut into profits, including nearly all regulation), opposed integration of schools, opposed the establishment of Social Security and Medicare (both demonized as socialism, if not downright communism), opposed national parks because pretty much all land should be privately owned and developed as the owners want), opposed environmental controls to the point that the Cuyahoga River caught on fire and bald eagles nearly died out (couldn't curtail DDT profits, you know), opposed equal rights for gays and gay marriage, opposed women serving in the military and equal pay for women, opposed the right to unionize, which has brought us all higher wages and benefits such as paid vacation, although I'll acknowledge that some unions have become corrupt and overly greedy, and yes, opposed health coverage for everyone.

Sure, some more moderate conservatives had a hand in some of these programs and issues, but today, moderation has melted away from the Republican Party like a, ahem,snowflake in the sun.

Modern conservatives are more keen on war and military spending than progressives, often relying on baseless fear-mongering think Trump's "Travel Ban," which banned travelers from Muslim countries, although the vast majority of terror attacks in our country have been from radicalized U.S. citizens and notfrom members of these countries. They do this while turning a blind eye to the less privileged, the poor and the elderly. One example: Trump wants to curtail federal funding for Meals on Wheels, for god's sake, which apparently hasn't shown good enough results, other than feeding poor, elderly shut-ins.

Also, I give you modern Republicans current struggle to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act. They had eight years to formulate a plan, and they voted more than 60 times to repeal it, knowing Obama would veto it.

But they had no plan of their own, and now their replacement plan, which by the laws of the Republican obstructionists must be called "Trumpcare," looks like it will boot 14 million people off insurance. Trump's promise to provide "access" to health insurance seems to mean access for those with good jobs, the same way insurance has worked for decades, leaving millions with no access.

Hey, Obamacare has huge problems and should be fixed, but conservatives aren't looking at that. Most conservatives just don't believe every American has a right to insurance coverage and regular health care. They can spin, bloviate and obfuscate, but at a fundamental level, they believe "the market" will take care of all problems, as if "the market" understands compassion or basic human decency, or that a society has a responsibility to care for all its people, and that the pursuit of happiness might just involve being healthy andnot going bankrupt and homeless because you get sick.

I encourage you to read my colleague Mark Barrett's excellent story on the Republicans' proposal in Sunday's paper, which details how the Republican plan will benefit wealthier folks at the expense of the poor. It's the conservative way.

The arc of history may bend toward justice, but it's not because of conservative philosophy.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com

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Boyle column: Progressive? Democrat? You must be a total idiot - Asheville Citizen-Times

Underground Party uses Music and Arts to mobilize Progressives in Orlando Orlando Political Observer Progressives from all over Central Florida were in Orlando on Saturday night for the Contact Music Festival, an underground party that offered multiple stages of musical acts, art exhibits, and classes on political activism aiming to activate ...

Continued here:
Underground Party uses Music and Arts to mobilize Progressives in Orlando - Orlando Political Observer

The PCCC, MoveOn, Democracy for America, 350.Org, and Presente are making the closing argument supporting Keith Ellison for DNC Chair in an open letter to DNC voting members before tomorrows vote.

As CNN just reported, it highlights the fact that Ellison is the best candidate in the Chair race to connect the DNC to the vibrant resistance energy having earned the trust of grassroots groups representing millions of people:

In a letter to DNC members obtained by CNN, the leaders of five groups at the heart of the political left MoveOn, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Democracy for America, 350 Action and Presente Action argued that only Ellison can bridge the divide between the Democratic establishment and the partys grassroots.

The groups also said theyd be eager to engage directly with the partys infrastructure under Ellisons leadership. It was an implicit rebuke of former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who is in a tight race with Ellison for DNC chair. They continued: If Keith Ellison is DNC chair, we can hit the ground running and because of the pre-existing trust that exists between Keith and the grassroots, every state party would have a head start harnessing the power of the resistance.

The PCCC has been a top Ellison organizing force recently announcing four new voting members for Ellison earlier this week: NH Sen. Martha Fuller-Clark (D-Portsmouth), Sheila Selkregg from Anchorage, AK, Edward Wesley from Anchorage, AK, and Curtis Wylde Wells, a Missouri Democratic Party State Committee member.

We are leaders of organizations representing over 10 million people who are vital to building power at the state level and opposing the Trump agenda nationally.

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Marissa Barrow

Starting today, Trumps corrupt catering to billionaires and Wall Street at the expense of working families will be more visible than ever. It wont be pretty.

Progressives are prepared to foster a historic resistance that merges the power of millions of people taking action with the leadership of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Keith Ellison, and others in Congress.

Elizabeth Warren says, Our agenda is still Americas agenda, fighting for that agenda is more important than ever, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is one of my main partners in the fight. Could you chip in $3 or more so the PCCC is ready for our next big fights with President Trump and the Republican leadership in 2017? Click here.

Weve already seen evidence our resistance works.

The resistance is strong. And growing.

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Progressive Change Campaign Committee

PCCC co-founder Stephanie Taylor went on C-SPANs Washington Journal on Tuesday to talk aboutthe role of progressives as the general election phase of the presidential campaign begins. During the 45-minute interview, she discussed the relationship between progressives and the Clinton-Kaine ticket: Theres trust there, but its a fragile one.

Take a look:

It was very exciting to see in [Clintons] acceptance speech a litany of issues that progressives have worked very hard on, like expanding Social Security, like debt-free and tuition-free college, opposing unfair trade deals. She really needs to keep the volume high and keep talking about these issues throughout the campaign.

Stephanie also gave this analysis a few hours before Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination on Thursday, July 28, during a POLITICO Hub panelin Philadelphia, including AFSCME president Lee Saunders, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver, and pollster Mark Penn with POLITICOs Susan Glasser and Glenn Thrush moderating.Click here to watch.

Click here to share on Twitter.

Click here to share on Facebook.

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Marissa Barrow

On Wednesday, President Obama made huge news by saying for the first time that we must expand Social Security benefits not cut them. This represents a sea change from 2012 when the White House was pushing to cut benefits as part of a grand bargain with Republicans.

THIS IS A GIANT WIN FOR PROGRESSIVES.

And it didnt happen in a vacuum. Three years of activism by PCCC members and progressive allies led to 7 senators, then nearly all Democratic senators, then the majority of House Democrats, and then both Democratic candidates for president supporting expanding not cutting Social Security. And now, a sitting president. Activism matters. Together, we made history.

In 2 weeks, we have an opportunity to etch this victory in stone.Thats when a small committee of 15 Democrats will start writing the 2016 Democratic Platform.

Sign the petition to the platform drafting committee.Tell them to make sure it reflects big progressive ideas that have risen to the forefront in recent years starting with expanding Social Security, and also including debt-free college, breaking up too-big-to-fail banks and monopolies, paid family leave, a $15 min wage, banning for-profit prisons, ending fracking, a carbon tax to fight climate change, restoring voting rights, grand jury reform, public financing of congressional elections, overturning Citizens United, massive infrastructure investment, and ending the revolving door between Wall Street and government.

In 2013, PCCC co-founders Stephanie Taylor and Adam Green met with Elizabeth Warren shortly after her victory. In the course of a wide-ranging conversation, they brought up how hard PCCC members and progressive allies had been fighting against proposed Social Security cuts.

Elizabeth Warren informed the PCCC for the first time that two of her colleagues had bills to expand Social Security benefits. Stephanie and Adam stared at each other in disbelief.

This idea had been written about by progressive thinkers, ranging from Duncan Black to Heather Parton. But now, with legislation from a red-state senator and a senator from the first presidential state of Iowa, there was an opportunity to fundamentally shift the debate.

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Adam Green

HUGECNN HEADLINE:Donald Trump in 2006: I sort of hope real estate market tanks

In 2006, Trump cheered on a housing market crash saying, I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy. If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know you can make a lot of money.

Last night, Elizabeth Warren gave a speech that is going viral slamming Trump for being a small, insecure money grubber who is in the pocket of Wall Street and looking to con the American people.

(Also share this amazing video on social media! Click here to share it on Facebook and click here to share it on Twitter.)

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Marissa Barrow

The Warren Wing won tonights debate, hands down. For the 4th Democratic debate in a row, key Warren wing priorities of debt-free college, Wall Street accountability, and expanding Social Security benefits were discussed. We are seeing a race to the top on economic populism issues a stark contrast to the extremism, intolerance, and race to the bottom in the Republican primary.

Adam Green, co-founder, Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Marissa Barrow

Tuesday night is President Obamas final State of the Union. We asked allies across the progressive movement what executive actions they would like to see in the presidents final year in addition to any bigger fights he picks with Congress. From disclosing corporate political spending to increasing wages for federal workers, here are 10 concrete progressive actions President Obama could take on his own with a single signature.

We know these can work because the presidents own former communications director said so:

Like and share your favorite!

Debt-Free College:

On Facebook | On Twitter

Wall Street reform:

On Facebook | On Twitter

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Marissa Barrow

Legislators in 10 states nationwide will be introducing debt-free college legislation, making debt-free college a central 2016 campaign issue from the top to bottom of the ticket.

This state-level action will give voters a unified Democratic message going into the 2016 election. All three Democratic presidential candidates have embraced debt-free college, and so have 100 members of Congress.

Progressive organizing has led to all three Democratic presidential candidates embracing debt-free college and 100 members of Congress have endorsing it.

Progressives are unifying the Democratic Party around a bold Elizabeth Warren-style agenda that motivates people to get to the polls and that would be a game changer in millions of lives, said PCCC debt-free college campaign director Kayla Wingbermuehle. The progressive strategy now is to go deep, unifying the Democratic Party around debt-free college and ensuring that theres an undeniable mandate in November of 2016.

Lawmakers include those fromthe First in the Nation states with Rep. Marjorie Porter of New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Hall of Iowa, and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of South Carolina, from key battleground states with Rep. Stephanie Howse of Ohio and Rep. Katrina Shankland of Wisconsin, plus Rep. Paul Mark of Massachusetts, Rep. Will Guzzardi of Illinois, Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal of Missouri, Rep. Paula Hawks of South Dakota, and Rep. Kaniela Ing of Hawaii.

Join the call for debt-free college in your state sign the petition at DebtFreeCollegeNOW.com and contact your state legislator to ask them to sign on!

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Marissa Barrow

The PCCC, Democracy for America, and MoveOn.org are asking the Democratic candidates to be bold during the debate in addressing economic populism issues such as debt-free college, expanding Social Security benefits, and Wall Street reform and accountability.

These issues motivate the base in primaries, and candidates need to go bold with an Elizabeth Warren-style agenda to inspire voters. Watch the video and read the letter sent to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin OMalley below.

Take a look below to see how much progressives have shifted the debate on issues like debt-free college, expand Social Security, and Wall Street accountability. Then share with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter!

Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Marissa Barrow

Originally posted here:
Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC)

Progressives, as liberals did before Reagan, emphasize doing the most for the most which is how we got socio-economic programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and a minimum wage. Todays liberals favor expanding health insurance company profits over expanding Medicare and strongly support Democratic presidents who undermine the very programs that earlier liberals created such as social welfare and Social Security.

Progressives don't act like prudes, puritans and prigs.

Progressives dont think the commerce clause of the Constitution should be used just because you feel like doing something, such as avoiding single payer health insurance. There is a huge difference between using the commerce clause to guarantee human rights and using it to subsidize health insurance companies.

Progressives recognize the Green Party and its members as part of a broad coalition. Most liberals act as though Greens were a new kind of HIV.

Progressives try to convince people with whom they disagree, not just scold them.

Progressive oppose the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq; liberals like them as long as a Democratic president is running them.

Progressives oppose the war on drugs, Americas most masochistic and deadly battle since Vietnam. Liberals treat it with utter indifference.

Progressives believe what people do is more important than how politely they talk about it.

Progressives don't think you should have to go to grad school to have an important role in government.

Progressives respect state and local government; liberals often act like they're a Republican plot. Progressives understand the importance of the devolution of power to the lowest practical level.

Progressives worry about locked doors, liberals about glass ceilings, which is why liberals thought Obama's election would create a post-racial society.Too many liberals are infatuated with symbolism such as electing a black president, while ignoring the real problems most minorities face in everything from the job market to dealing with the law.

Even progressives who don't own guns respect the right of others who do. Besides, why piss them off the way liberals have done, when they could be allies on a host of other issues, beginning with civil liberties?

But then, progressives still defend civil liberties. Liberals seem to have forgotten about them and ignore Obama's abuse of them.

Progressives pursue issues; liberals support candidates.

Progressives don't give up an issue just because the candidate they voted for is now in office and opposes it.

Liberals love Clinton and Obama while despising the Bushes who preceded them. They dont seem to notice that our government continued to move to the right under both Democrats and that neither repealed any significant policies of their GOP predecessors

Progressives don't think bailing out banks is an economic stimulus, but that helping to create jobs and stop foreclosures is.

Progressives support local public schools and their teachers; liberals go along with the Bush-Obama attack on public education.

Progressives are not afraid of criticizing Israel for its abusive treatment of Palestine. Liberals either support Israel's criminal actions or are afraid of being called anti-Semites so don't say anything.

Progressives have new ideas; liberals come up with new compromises with the right.

Liberals have become an elite demographic while progressives are a populist movement.

Progressives believe that change is produced by broad coalitions brought together on specific issues, but not necessarily agreeing on all policy. Liberals believe change will come when everyone acts like they do.

Read the original here:
How to tell the difference between a progressive and a liberal

The Progressive era changed U.S. society permanently; every aspect of modern American life still shows the impact of the reformers of the era. But what did they want? And why did they want it? The belief of all Progressives - that we really could end all human suffering - was the inspiration for a massive overhaul of American life.

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. The factory workers, most of them immigrants, nearly all women, ran for the doors to exit, only to find them locked from the outside. The workers crowded to the rooftops and on window ledges as fire engines arrived only to find that neither their hoses nor their ladders could reach high enough to help. Many of the workers (60, by one estimate) chose to jump to their deaths rather than face the fire inside.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was one of the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history. The idea that 248 people might die in such a senseless, seemingly preventable way was a matter of outrage for many Americans. Why had the doors been locked? How could this have happened? The calls to action that followed were emblematic of a spirit of reform that had swept across the U.S. around the turn of the century. This movement, 'Progressivism', would go on to fundamentally change the nation, as well as create a permanent shift in what Americans expected from their governments.

As an idea, Progressivism generally refers to the belief that government or people acting on its behalf can be used to address social problems, inequalities, or inequities facing the nation. As a political term, the Progressive Party was born in 1912 in light of this idea.

Whether you were a Progressive only in spirit or a member of the political organization of the same name, you shared several major goals:

Ending corruption - Progressives wanted consumer rights, the ending of monopolies (often called 'trusts,' which called for 'trust-busting'), and clean government.

Efficiency and perfection - Progressives held the belief that we really could eradicate most social failings and problems. At the minimum, if we couldn't end these problems, we could streamline our solutions to provide the most efficient solutions.

There were several policies that had leverage with both Progressives and everyday Americans including:

Child Labor - Prior to the Progressive era, child labor was depressingly common. Factory owners often preferred child workers since they were more manageable (that is, less likely to strike) and cheaper. Children in factories often worked 16-hour days in highly dangerous conditions.

Temperance - Many Progressives were interested in root causes of social problems, the factors they thought that, by removing, they could cure the malady for good. They believed that alcohol addiction was one of the chief problems of the era.

Equal Treatment - The political disenfranchisement of African Americans and women was a major issue for all Progressive groups.

Education - The virtue of public education wasn't just to provide a 'way out' for poor minorities or immigrants, as it's often viewed today. Instead, it was viewed as a civilizing force by Progressives, a social mechanism for creating new, industrious Americans.

Urbanization and Labor Reform - The plight of urban areas was brought to light by reformers who tried to show Americans what their major cities were really like.

Progressives worked hard to bring the social issues they were passionate about to light. Possibly the most impactful Progressive-era reformers were found in the world of journalism. Ida Tarbell was unique on two fronts; she was one of the few female national reporters during this era and she was a groundbreaking investigative journalist, what Theodore Roosevelt termed a 'muckraker'.

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Probably the most famous muckraker was Upton Sinclair, a journalist who used writing to promote his own social and political beliefs. His novel The Jungle was a scathing, unsettling, and disturbing look at the Chicago meat-packing industry. Though Sinclair didn't get the socialist revolution he desired, he did spur the nation to support federal legislation to change the industry, with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

The Progressive movement lost a great deal of momentum after World War I, but the impact of Progressivism was undeniable:

The Progressive era was born from post-Civil War reform movements like abolition, temperance, and women's suffrage. Appearing around 1890, the movement was inspired by reformers who believed that effort, logic, and efficiency could, in time, cure most of society's ills. Their major targets were labor reform (especially child labor), urbanization, political and commercial corruption, and general improvement of modern life.

Progressives made massive changes to the nation's political system at both the state and federal levels, establishing new tools for popular control of the legislative process and new laws regulating dozens of different industries. Ultimately, the Progressive era faltered after the disaster of World War I, but the long-term impact of their reforms is still present in contemporary American society.

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What is Progressivism? - Definition, History & Goals - Video ...