The Progressive Perspective

It’s hard to be a Liberal these days. Our supposed savior seems to be moving slowly but steadily to the right as he concedes to conservatives on issue after issue. Our eloquent orator no longer excites his supporters with the awe-inspiring speeches we remember from his campaign. The President, however, is not the primary target of my frustration. Much of it rests with the Liberal outlook. Liberals are perpetually on the defensive; defending the New Deal and Great Society policies against constant erosion from conservative legislators, the environment from mega-polluters, and fending off the Tea Party’s incessant calls to slash tax revenues.

I am fed up with watching the party that supposedly represents my beliefs lose the public relations battle on every major policy issue and consistently look weak in the process. If Democrats want to win elections, they need to appeal to voters. They need to stop defending big government for big government’s sake and establish themselves as the party of pragmatism and optimism. The future success of the party relies on the support of moderates, particularly as the Tea Party drags Republicans to the right. A new approach is necessary: a strong-willed, smart, and well-articulated approach.

Call it semantics, but I no longer consider myself a Liberal. I prefer the term progressive, which I believe Democrats need to embrace as well. While the policy perspectives are quite similar, the difference in attitude is substantive. Progressivism is the change I can still believe in. It is optimistic, practical, and forward thinking. It is assertive and patriotic. It is based on smart policy and a willingness to see gray when everyone else sees black and white. It is pro-business, pro-environment, pro-choice, pro-reform, and pro-America.

I want to use this blog to share my progressive viewpoint on major policy issues of the day. I hope to explore the entire gambit of issues, but I will focus on energy and foreign policy (hopefully employing guest writers for other issues).

The climate change policy debate is an excellent example to illustrate the theme of my blog. This is not going to be another doom-and-gloom, climate-change-is-going-to-destroy-the-world-as we-know-it kind of blog. While the results of unabated greenhouse gas emissions would be disastrous, I am not going to hash over tired statistics and politicized science. Rather, I will purport the progressive approach to energy policy: reducing emissions while increasing energy independence and stimulating the economy.

Let’s do better.