What is a "progressive" to you?

by carsick, Tue Feb 14, 2006 at 11:14:49 AM EST

I'm seeing the term "Progressive" being used rather liberally these days and often as a way for one person to define themselves from another liberal and claim some sort of higher ground. Yet, the term sometimes is being used in seemingly contradictory ways.
What is YOUR definition of a "Progressive"? Because I no longer have a clue as I keep seeing it in so many venues.

Tags: definition progressive (all tags)

Comments

7 Comments

Sort by

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

A progressive is a liberal under the age of 40.

A progressive is a liberal who wants to escape 40 years of republican bad mouthing of liberals. And Democrats running in a general election.

A progressive is a reformer from the 1900 to 1920 period. He/she may be either a Republican or a democrat or run as a third party candidate during that period.

A progressive is a liberal who is too chickenshit to accept the term liberal.

All of the above and ...

by David Kowalski 2006-02-14 03:14PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

I'm with you and ACSR on this one but I'd distinguish between progressives who don't mind being referred to as liberals and those who do.

People who can't stand being called a liberal but don't mind referring to themselves as a progressive, IMHO, are either lacking courage to stand up for themselves when called liberal or have bought into many of the bad things said about liberals by the GOP.

Call me progressive. Call me liberal. Whatever. But my values place me firmly on the left regardless of the label that is chosen.

by Curt Matlock 2006-02-15 08:11AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

A progressive is someone who stands up for Universal Health Care.

A progressive is someone who stands up for human rights abroad and at home.

A progressive is someone who wants to make human dignity the central defining feature of civil society.

A progressive is someone who looks at policy and asks: "How will this affect society?" first, rather than, "How will this affect our fiscal balance?"

That, to me, is what progressive means.

by HellofaSandwich 2006-02-14 03:41PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

A progressive is someone who supports common sense solutions to problems that promote equality and fairness for all. Often this entails taking on established and entrenched powers that be.

by Quinton 2006-02-14 07:21PM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

Somebody whose politics are more defined by social issues than economic issues, and is afraid to proudly call themselves Liberals due to all the right wing badmouthing of the name.

I am a liberal and a populist.

by ACSR 2006-02-15 03:10AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

I'd sure like to see a commonly accepted definition!
Sick of the word personally.

by BigDog 2006-02-15 09:24AM | 0 recs

permalink

Re: What is a "progressive" to you?

I'm with you. I used to be considered a progressive a decade or so ago but it was because I was working on good government systemic reforms like voting and sunshine laws. I've always been a liberal moderate and wear it proudly. Now I've seen people lecturing what "Progressives" want but it has been used a bludgeon and in a wide variety of issues that I no longer think it carries any weight. Plus the term "Progress" has been taken up by a number of conservative PACs and think tanks to confuse people all the more.

by carsick 2006-02-16 05:09AM | 0 recs