Comments on: LateLate Sunday Nite: Why are You a Progressive?

By: burnspbesq

burnspbesq — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:47:52 +0000

Umm, no. Not even close.

What you just described is the crony-capitalism of the extreme Right, not any position that I recognize as conservative.

Conservatives believe in fiscal responsibility. Conservatives believe that markets generally do a better job of allocating resources and providing appropriate incentives for economic behavior than governments, but true conservatives aren’t fetishistic about it. Unlike libertarians, we know a market failure when we see one, and we are willing to evaluate regulatory schemes on their merits.

It is a fallacy to equate the policies of the Republican Party over the last 40 years with conservatism. The Republican Party stands for statism, theocracy, the press as propaganda organ, aggressive war in the service of ill-defined goals, and crony-capitalism. Conservatism stands for none of that. The Republican Party has perverted the term “conservative” beyond recognition.

Go read some Oakeshott, willya?

By: wigwam

wigwam — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:03:03 +0000

Agreed! About the only thing that unifies conservatives is a visceral hatred of being taxed and/or regulated. They constantly babble about the miracle of the marketplace and the wisdom of the unseen hand, but at the personal and corporate levels they do everything possible to insulated themselves from the need to compete, i.e., they love to cheat.

By: JPL0

JPL0 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:52:31 +0000

Good Morning! Your post was excellent.

By: Crosstimbers

Crosstimbers — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:20:30 +0000

I appologize for the typos and gramatical errors. I typed too fast and didn’t review.

By: Crosstimbers

Crosstimbers — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:17:44 +0000

I think terms like liberal, progressive, and conservative are relative and have changed considerably. Jefferson was considered a liberal for holding that individual rights were primary and that government should be minimal possible. Hamilton was considered conservative for favoring a strong, active central government. FDR used a strong central government (Hamiltonion) to protect and promote the rights of the individual against strong economic forsees not in existence in agrarian America, i.e., big business.

The Progressive movement was a reform movement at the turn of the 20th century which started with local government weeding out corruption and advanced to national causes like trust busting. Ultimately, reformers of both parties, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, were considered to be progressives.

For the last 30 years, conservatives have worked to make the word “liberal” a defamatory term. They have continuously associated it with derrogatory concepts haveing to do with overtaxation, squandering money to assist the unworthy, and overbearing government regulating the intricacies of daily lives. Due to their success in this propaganda, liberals have adopted the term “progressive”, to negate the convervative destruction of the word “liberal.”

I personally prefer liberal, but the the key concept is a willingness to use government to “promote the general welfare.” Liberals and progressives favor it, conservatives and reactionaries don’t. One side views the nation as a mutual effort with a goal of improving the lot of all citizens, the other views it as a sort of a social Darwinist preserve progress will occur by the fittest rising to the top.

By: Loo Hoo.

Loo Hoo. — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:10:57 +0000

I hope that we can enjoy what the Venezualans have today:

It shows the level of democratic participation in Venezuela, the ability of the Venezuelan people to vote for and against the reforms, to be calm and accept the result.

So I think it’s a really interesting take on what’s going on in Venezuela in the sense that although the majority of the population voted for Chavez last year, they also have the ability to make up their own minds.

The fact that we see that an effort he proposed has not gone through, I think really is a testament to the amount of democratic processes that are going on in this country.

BBC

By: EdwardTeller

EdwardTeller — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:50:30 +0000

I’m progressive because I believe that progress happens, but that we have a responsibiity to assure as much of that progress is positive and commonly shared as is humanly possible. I’m liberal because generosity of spirit and the free sharing of wealth are directly linked to the evolutionary progress of our species.

By: BlueStateRedHead

BlueStateRedHead — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:46:59 +0000

Ok. BlueState turning in. Snow on the car and driveway, first time this year will make for an even busier morning.

Good night all.

By: burnspbesq

burnspbesq — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:41:41 +0000

Hey, y’all.

Sorry I’ve been in such a crummy mood lately.

Not sure what’s causing it.

Although reading stories like this doesn’t help much.

http://www.latimes.com/feature…..ome-center

And the Vatican wonders why so many Catholics feel alienated …

By: BlueStateRedHead

BlueStateRedHead — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:39:36 +0000

I am a progressive because I think like an entitled Republican. Except I am even more entitled. I want to pass on the wealth I have accumulated and that is mine by right to my daughter. The abundance of opportunities to free speech and to the right of assembly, the privilege of knowing there is a rule of law, the many fair elections that I have participated in (not living in Florida, I remember them), the balance of power, the power to impeach the corrupt powerful, everything that is mine by right of …. my constitution.

My name is America, Unites States there of. I am a natural born progressive.

OK I was not always perfect but I knew how to progress to change and did so, and will do again.