I went to a DFA Meetup in Seattle last night, and was stunned by the attendance and energy, so I posted some thoughts at Progressive Majority Washington.
One of the many things that struck me about it was how people seem to be ready to talk about "The Left" again. In the Dean campaign, I was also stunned by how many obviously-progressive folks insisted on painting themselves and the candidate as "common-sense centrists," even while railing against the centrism of the party. Could it be that we're prepared to be proud of who we are again? Perhaps even proud of our radical heritage?
Posted by Michael at December 2, 2004 05:33 PM | TrackBackTo a certain extent, following back to some of the questions about how we frame discussions, I would like to suggest that being a centrist and being a progressive are not necessarily contrary positions.
I get a lot of raised eyebrows when I say this, but I do believe that the Democratic Party needs to move further to the center. The problem is that people seem to not understand the center. They think they are moving more to the center when they are moving closer to the extreme right. Instead they are moving away from the center. If they want to move to the center, they need to move to policies based on true compassion, not just a slogan of compassionate conservativism which is really just a codeword for greed.
Yes, we need to move to the center. We do that by rejecting the greed of the extreme right and by moving back towards the left.
Posted by: Aldon Hynes at December 8, 2004 04:10 AMI think I understand what you're trying to say, but I have to disagree.
Yes, many, if not most, progressive positions are closer to the values of the vast majority of Americans as demonstrated in public opinion polls.
But that's not what "the center" means in politics, and it's not a simple matter of framing People who speak about a fixed center in politics are speaking are deluding themselves. No such thing exists -- the "moderate" position on any given issue is a function almost entirely of partisans on either side.
And those who paint themselves as centrists are suggesting that their politics is defined by seeking to find compromise between right and left. As you say, in dealing with today's right-wing, that's a very dangerous path.
Posted by: Michael at December 8, 2004 02:34 PM