Restore the Republic, Reject the Agenda of the Progressive Left!

Ifyou are a regular reader of my blog you are familiar with myclosing tagline above or a variation of it, which I close most blogswith.

Sowhat is a “progressive” and what is my beef with them? For theansweryou must look at American history beginning in the early 1900’s.

“Progressivism”is a reform movement that began in the 1890’s andhas remained active tothis day. At times it has had a lower profilebut it has been an activeforce in American politics for over 100 years.

The American“progressive movement” was originally led by“intellectuals and socialreformers” (aka the elite) seeking to addressthe economic, political,and cultural issues which had resulted fromthe rapidgrowth/industrialization of the country as well as the growthof moderncapitalism. The Progressives believed then as they do today,that thisrapidly changing society required the establishment of a “neworder”.Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Croly, John DeweyandCharles Merriam were early political leaders of the movement.

Progressivesdon’t always agree on how to solve problems butgenerally they agreegovernment must be actively involved at everylevel of society to drivereform. They also agree the existingconstitutional system isantiquated. They believe it must become adynamic, evolving instrumentof social change, aided by scientificknowledge and the development ofadministrative bureaucracy.

Some of the first changes the earlyprogressives made were; thedirect elections of Senators, the openprimary, the initiative andreferendum. To drive the desired societalchange through the governmentthere was a need for more revenue whichresulted in the 16th Amendmentand individual progressive income tax.

Progressivesare elitists – their vision was to use the Presidencyto provide thedirection and the vision to drive the evolution of aprogressivegovernment.

“All that progressives ask or desire ispermission–in an erawhen development, evolution, is a scientificword–to interpret theConstitution according to the Darwinian principle;all they ask isrecognition of the fact that a nation is a living thingand not amachine.” – Woodrow Wilson

The Progressive Partyled by Senator Robert M. La Follette ofWisconsin was very successful inthe years following WWI. After the warthere was an up swing in leftleaning politics in the United States.Political parties such as theWorkers’ Party (the Communists), theSocialist Party and theFarmer-Labor Party, all increased theirmembership in the early 1920’s.

In1922, the Conference for Progressive Political Action(C.P.P.A.),another left wing progressive movement partnered withrailway unions tocreate a political force at the state and locallevels, successfullybacking several liberal candidates for Congress.

In1924, the C.P.P.A. convinced Senator La Follette to be theircandidatefor president, giving him full control over the partyplatform and hischoice of a running mate. The platform he laid out isas follows:

• Government Ownership.Claiming mismanagement byprivate enterprise, the Progressives calledfor government ownership ofthe nation’s railroads, timber forests,coal, ore and oil fields, andpower-generating water resources.
• Tax Reform.Saying the lower and middle classespaid a disproportionate amount ofincome tax, the Progressives calledfor lower of tax rates for thosegroups and promised sharp increases onthe wealthy.
• Agricultural Reform.The Progressives wereproponents of farm subsides and other governmentprograms to supportfarmers. These included price supports and relieffrom the costs ofover production.
• Judicial Reform.The Progressives wantedlimitations on both judicial reviews andinjunctions. They argued thatjudges were overturning too muchlegislation based on constitutionalgrounds. They said that this wasblocking the implementation ofprograms and legislation that wasdesigned to “benefit” the lower andmiddle classes.

Doesany of this sound familiar to you? Compare the above to theProgressivePromise found on the website of the ProgressiveCongressional Caucus: http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?SectionID=5&ParentID=0&SectionTypeID=2&SectionTree=5

Beginningin 1924, Norman Thomas became a leading figure in theAmericanProgressive/Socialist movement running for president six timesbetween1928 & 1948 as the candidate of the Socialist Party ofAmerica.

“TheAmerican people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. Butunder the nameof ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of theSocialist program,until one day America will be a Socialist nation,without knowing how ithappened.” – Norman Thomas

This statement is the key tounderstanding the Progressives. Theyare radicals who understand thatthe way to take over America isthrough an evolutionary process not arevolutionary one. The radicalsof the 60’s, using unrest over the war,the momentum of the civilright’s movement and LBJ’s Great Society triedto move their agendaforward with a more openly revolutionary approachbut this was quicklyrejected by mainstream America.

Since thenthe Progressive Movement has operated quietly inside theDemocraticParty slowly moving their agenda forward and waiting fortheiropportunity. Their patience paid off in 2008 after G.W. Bush’sunpopularsecond term.

So who are today’s Progressives and how do they operate within the Democratic Party?

Within the House of Representatives the Democrats have a group called the Progressive Caucus.

“TheProgressive Caucus is an organization of Members ofCongress founded in1991 by newly-elected House Representative BernieSanders(Independent-Vermont), who is a self-described socialist.”

The following is a list of all current Representatives in the Congressional Progressive Caucus:

Nancy Pelosi (CA) – Speaker of the House

Steny Hoyer (MD) – House Majority Leader

Jim Clyburn (SC) – Majority Whip

John B. Larson (CT) –Democratic Caucus Chair

Co-Chairs
Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)

Vice Chairs
Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33) Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18) Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10) Hon. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)
Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)

Senate Members
Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)

House Members
Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01) Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02) Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)
Hon. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01) Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08) Hon. André Carson (IN-07) Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)
Hon. Judy Chu (CA-32) Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11) Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)

Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05) Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09) Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)
Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07) Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07) Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17) Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51) Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04) Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)
Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) Hon. John Hall (NY-19) Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)
Hon. Alcee Hastings (FL-23) Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22) Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02) Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13) Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Hon. John Lewis (GA-05) Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02) Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)
Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07) Hon. Eric Massa (NY-29)
Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07) Hon. James McGovern (MA-03) Hon. George Miller (CA-07)
Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04) Hon. Jim Moran (VA-08) Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL) Hon. John Olver (MA-01) Hon. Frank Pallone (NJ-06)
Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04) Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10) Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Hon. Jared Polis (CO-02) Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15) Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01) Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-39)
Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) Hon. José Serrano (NY-16) Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13) Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02) Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)
Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12) Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35) Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)
Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30) Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL) Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)

Thenames on this list should surprise no one as they are some ofthe mostliberal members of Congress. Here is a link to their website:

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=166&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&SectionTree=4&lnk=b&ItemID=164

Until1999 the Progressive Caucus worked in open partnership withDemocraticSocialists of America. After the press reported on thislink, theconnections suddenly vanished from both organizations’websites.

Excerpts from the website of the Democratic Socialists of America:

“TheDemocratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largestsocialistorganization in the United States, and the principal U.S.affiliate ofthe Socialist International. DSA’s members are buildingprogressivemovements for social change while establishing an openlysocialistpresence in American communities and politics.

Weare socialists because we reject an international economicordersustained by private profit, alienated labor, race andgenderdiscrimination, environmental destruction, and brutality andviolencein defense of the status quo.

We aresocialists because we share a vision of a humaneinternational socialorder based both on democratic planning and marketmechanisms to achieveequitable distribution of resources, meaningfulwork, a healthyenvironment, sustainable growth, gender and racialequality, andnon-oppressive relationships”.

DSA website has a youthsection, Young Democratic Socialists (YDS).Made up of students fromcolleges and high schools and young people inthe work force, the YouthSection works on economic justice anddemocracy and prison justiceprojects. It is a member of theInternational Union of Socialist Youth,an affiliate of the SocialistInternational. The Youth Section meetsseveral times during the year.More information is available from YDSstaff.

Also on their site you will find a variety of resourcesin the formof PDFs. Most of these are in support of all theadministrations majoragenda items; Health Care Reform, Green Jobs,Climate ChangeRegulations and Card Check to name a few. However thereis one thatreally stands out called “How a President Creates Change” byJosephSchwartz.

Below is the opening of this article:

“Theimpressive depth and breadth of your electoral victory,combined withDemocratic gains in both the House and the Senate,provides thepossibility of reversing three decades of growinginequality that is theprimary cause of an impending depression. To putit simply, the worldnow produces more than it can consume; we now arepaying the price forusing excessive debt to make up for the decliningpurchasing power ofthe global working class. But to do avoid a globaldepression you willhave to act boldly and quickly. As a constitutionallaw scholar, yourealize that the system of checks and balances andseparation of powersestablished by our founders consciously aimed toforestall rapid change.Thus, almost all the reforms we identify withthe twentieth-centuryDemocratic Party—Social Security, the NationalLabor Relations Act, theCivil Rights Acts, and Medicare—occurred inthe periods 1935-1938 and1964-1966, the only times when the Democratscontrolled the presidencyand had strong majorities in both chambers ofCongress.

If upon taking office you lead with boldness, youradministration couldpass major legislation in regard to universalhealth care, massiveinvestment in green technology, and labor lawreform that wouldtransform United States social relations forgenerations to come. But asa former community organizer you know thatsuch reforms did not comefrom the top down; they arose becausemoderate elites made concessionsto the movements of the unemployed andthe CIO in the 1930s and to theCivil Rights, anti-war, women’s, andwelfare rights movements of the1960s. While your office cannot conjureup mass social movements, youcan call your supporters to ongoinggrassroots activism”.

Throughouthistory, Progressives have been enamored with the wrongpeople. Thisincluded people such as Stalin and Mussolini. EarlyProgressives weresupporters of eugenics and remained interested untilHitler made it intoa bad word. At a minimum Progressives are statists,who favor a dominantcentral government that tightly controls its’citizens, at their worstthey can morph into power mad social engineerswho believe they canreshape society through science and government.

Today, theprogressive movement is the lunatic fringe of the left.The Progressivesin the administration and Congress openly expresstheir admiration forMao, Chavez, Che Guevara and Castro. Mark Lloyd,Anita Dunn, CassSunstein, John Holdren, Ron Bloom, Maxine Waters andCarol Browner arejust a handful of these radicals who have taken upresidence in ourgovernment. It should not go without notice thatPresident has madereferences in his speeches to his “progressivefriends”.

During his Sept 2009 Healthcare address to joint session of Congress, he said:

“Tomy progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades,the drivingidea behind reform has been to end insurance company abusesand makecoverage available for those without it”.

If you have anydoubts that there is a Progressive movement hard atwork inside thisadministration, think again! Go to the website ofProgressives for Obamaand read this article: http://progressivesforobama.blogspot.com/2010/01/organization-you-get-nothing-without-it.html or check out these sites: http://blog.pdamerica.org/ or http://www.democrats.com/

TheProgressive Movement goes against everything America stands for:itcreated progressive income tax, prohibition, the Federal Reserve,theU.N., every single government agency – from the Department oftheInterior to the FDA – these were all progressive ideas.Progressivesbelieve in the philosophy that life is just too complex forthe commonpeople to understand or deal with so they should back off andlet thegovernment solve the problems. Kind of reminds you of the townhallmeetings on Healthcare Reform, doesn’t it!

Here is the realproblem – the more power and control the governmentgets, the more powerand control it wants. The founding fathersrecognized this, which is whythere is a separation of powers builtinto our Constitution. It wasintentionally designed this way toprovide checks and balances tocontrol the speed of change.

Progressives believe in socialre-engineering. They believe thatthey can improve the world by changingthe structure of society and theroles of the people in it.Unfortunately, what usually starts with goodintentions eventually goesawry. The governments of Chavez and Castrohave not created a betterlife for all. What they did create wasequality – in poverty for themasses and wealth for the elite! I defyyou to find a “regular person”in a truly “progressive/socialist”society who is happy with theirindividual freedom, their quality oflife and their ability to pursuetheir dreams. Americans are spoiled –we take these things for granted.There is no free lunch, allentitlements come at a cost. What are youwilling to give up, to haveyour “security” provided by the federalgovernment. I want more from mylife than …work, eat, sleep…die!

“Socialismis a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance,and the gospel ofenvy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing ofmisery.” - WinstonChurchill

“The assumption that spending more of thetaxpayer’s money willmake things better has survived all kinds ofevidence that it has madethings worse.” – Thomas Sowell

Openyour eyes America, the Constitution and the American way oflife areunder attack! You must fight back, the threat is real. Thereare“progressives” in our government who want to “fundamentally transform America”. This transformation is underway. Will you help stop it?

“Mostpeople who read “The Communist Manifesto” probably have noidea that itwas written by a couple of young men who had never workeda day in theirlives, and who nevertheless spoke boldly in the name of“the workers”.”– Thomas Sowell

Restore the Republic, Reject the Agenda of the Progressive Left!

Coming: Part 2 – Scary Progressives/Socialists - In Their Own Words