Why Don’t Progressives Organize Their Efforts As Well As Conservatives?
In response to my piece on the Arc of the Moral Universe, 2GreenEnergy business associate Tom Ribe writes from his home in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico: Craig, your thinking is clear and refreshing. I have no doubt that the majority of people in the US and elsewhere want a progressive and peaceful future.
The right is very organized and well funded. They have a national long term strategy for their ends. By contrast, the left is scattered and disorganized. Until progressives understand what the Koch brothers and others have done to organize against us we will continue to fight brush fires. We must develop our own strategy to use our majority status. Much of this work has been done but it needs to be brought together. The Trump crisis demands that we do this.
I appreciate the kind words, and your excellent point. I have two theories on this:
• I’m afraid the problem you note about progressives’ failure to organize is an intractable one. By definition, progressives want society to move forward, that can mean hundreds of different things. Yes, these things are united by a thread, but, by contrast, people who want to push us back into the 1950s know exactly what they’re talking about, and their concepts are united by very thick rope.
• Trump was elected by an appeal to anger and fear, where progressives are motivated by inclusion, hope, fairness, decency, etc. The former emotions are intrinsically easier to get into a stranglehold and exploit than the latter.
Hope I’m wrong about both these, but sadly, I think I’m correct.
Lack of a unifying progressive message is exactly the problem. Lack of a relevant, unifying message is why we lost this one.
Might I suggest… “It’s time to stop economic oppression of ordinary Americans.”
Dismantle the rigged health care system that forces ordinary Americans to over pay for health care, and makes health care unaffordable for many.
Dismantle oppressive wage and work-time regulations that allow companies to exploit American workers.
Return to a more progressive income tax system so the ordinary Americans aren’t impoverished just so the rich can get richer.
And so on.
As organized as the right is, after voting to repeal the ACA dozens of times now that they are poised to do so, they still have no real replacement.
Yep.
Craig,
I agree with those who recognize the vague disingenuous nature of the term “progressive”.
It’s a cunning usage, implying that anyone who disagrees with a thinly disguised leftist agenda is a reactionary.
Conservatives can also be “progressive”, (although the term ‘conservative’ has been relegated by the left to mean “rightist reactionary”).
Major differences between the two mainstream political movements at t he centre, is minimal. Both are faced with the highly restrictive reality of constructing policies that can be implemented within the confines of government administrative logistics.
Conservatives have an advantage in being free from rigid ideological dogma. This allows for a more realistic appraisal of objectives with practical outcomes.
Leftist policies are hampered by ideological considerations. This produces objectives, often noble, but without any clear idea of how to achieve practical outcomes.
The left rely on emotive rhetoric to deflect from the impracticality of policy implementation.
IMHO, in a functioning representative democracy both sides are equally important. The Left to inspire what could be done, and the Conservatives to implement what can be done.
@ Tom thank s for igniting the Thought processes in this much needed subject area.
Randy and Bruce and some others from the ARC align with the need to get something done collectively to over turn this negative ARC and Reverse it.
Mate Marco as usual your attempts at trying to be sobering realistic are Articluated quite well….
Seems tho you may be locked into resignation and acceptance of things which is quite understandable given the ARC of History of Mankind and our poor showings thus far…..
On the surface yes it is easier for the conservative side to rule as they usually dont try to make large change so they dont have to gather great forces to change major rules, laws or bring new programs . They maintain the Status Quo and tinker on the margins
so in essence theydon’t get much done! It akes proddign and pushing by the progressive or Liberal side to move them in a direction .
Before rampant gerrymandering and the Vast explosion and infusion of mega Dollars into our politics there were a good group of Centrists within the GOP party , that is before they devolved into what my circle calls the gomer party.
pre Gomer stage or ERA these centirsts were great Statesmen too and they had brains and values adn they could find good consensus with the other side and as a result good laws and some very good bi partisan legislation was passed and enacted into law.
Nixon created EPA and the Clean Air Act and Social Security money was increased so old people were not without food etc. They even toyed with a National Health care plan in 1970’s.
Planned Parrenthood was born during this time as were several other good social programs that helped all people and directed society to direct more resources into common people and common causes so all boats were lifted some what better.
in the 1980’s things changed and are detailed in the early 2000’s The Epic Read Winner Take all Politics
But Dark Money and Gerry Mandering took over and ideologues ran the Centrists out of the party the ranks of the Senators who had good Reason and ToFair tone are long gone!!! and Not with the Wind but with the shill rhetoric of demagogues and replaced by Oliver Crommwell Round head Know Nothings we call them gomers !
The proof of the Pudding Mate is these so called conservatives that you claim can govern better as they are more organized etc etc
Well how come they have 7 years to rant, rage and complain and make proclamation after baseless proclamation on the Affordable Health Care Act – derisively called it Obama CARE.
And they don’t have a clue or 1 iota of a suitable replacement for it but they claim to love the american people etc Now where is the organization in that ????
Some would call it dereliction of duty – but since they only serve the DARK Money now it is their new MO !
Mind you good sir, that the Affordable Care act is 80 % taken and based on from the Heritage ( GOP funded ) Foundation .
These dark souls dont even value their own prescribed medicine!
What may pass for stability or status quo borders on the insane and it is not a Good ARC for our Nation History but rather a Dark fragmented ARC that is Trending in the Wrong directions on many many levels as Randy alluded to in his on the mark Posting.
So applying the patterns of the past to today’s problems sells us all short as the Dynamics have fundamentally changed in multiple ways.
The progressives have a steep challenge as cultural clanish tendencies seem to rise up with hard economic times, the masses minds are too feeble to comprehend the larger forces and who really pulls the strings , they actually Act out tragic acts of large cognitive Dissonance in these continued voting against their own best Interests.
A cynic would say L Powell has won game over and our circus master is the CON man from NY.
Others though , those of us with Spine and the Long view see that there will be Great Opportunity for a Great Resistance and perhaps we can topple down the Walls and Forces of Oppresion before those Forces Force their full weight upon us all.
As Martin Luther King said We Shall overcome ! SI SI Puede ! Yes WE Can ! and Churchill implored Never Never Give Up !
yes we may be divided and not a well oiled machine but We have Conviction and Faith – so Stand Tall Lean into the Wind and Bring Value!
Those are the voices I hear in the distance and I am drawn to them
Stimulating Post Craig and in light of today’s eruptions over flawed bad policy coming from the court jestors and fools this is good