A NeoProgressive Philosophy, Collated
On my other blog, a reader asked what should have been a simple question: Can you point me to a site that outlines what a progressive agenda would look like? One that is left of where the dem party is now, but right of the Green party?
I'd like to think that this blog fills that order, but I haven't yet gotten around to trying to put all the pieces of the NeoProgressive philosophy together in one place. Certainly not one single post or essay -- it would be a book (which, someday, I intend to turn this blog into).
But at the very least, I was able to surf all the posts on this site and identify the ones that, taken together, lay out the basics of such a philosophy. So, I did that; a list of those links is below.
I also referred my reader to three books that lay out a progressive-left agenda. These won't satisfy conservative neoprogs, but they still fall within the parameters of the broader Neoprogressive idea (in other words, they're left-progressive, while other people are right-progressive, but they're still progressive rather than extremist or radical). They are: James Carville's "We're Right, They're Wrong" (fairly short, political philosophy peppered with some good Cajun recipes); Jimmy Carter's new "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis"; and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's "The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda".
This blog, of course, tries to point to a middle way -- an American way that's neither liberal nor conservative but sets moral, good-government ground rules within which those two camps can do honorable battle. Along those lines, I offer a ridiculous number of links to individual posts from this site that, taken together, lay out what I consider to be a good neoprogressive philosophy:
Welcome to the NeoProgBlog
On the Proper Role of Government in a Democratic Society
A Neoprogressive Approach to the Abortion Debate
The War on Christmas
Alito and the Slippery Slope to Totalitarianism
Can't Have DemocracyWithout Knowing the Facts
Watching the Watchers: A Good Journalist Keeps Digging...
Fans of Good Government: A Good Day
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? (Iraq)
Mine Safety
But It's Just a SMALL Hole in the Dike, Right? (Economics and Foreign Trade)
Mind-Numbing Stuff About the Fed, Money Supply, M3, and the Possible End of the World As We Know It
Gozar's Coming Ho-ome! (A soldier comes home.)
Trustbusting in the Modern Era: Not?
Alito Clearly Opposes Roe v. Wade. Why Can't He Say So, And Let the Chips Fall Where They May?
A Tale of Two Nations
Tom Delay and the Ungrateful Gerrymander
Profiles in Cowardice
How To Fail in Government Without Really Trying
Science in the Vatican
How to Fail in Government, Mental Health Edition
Yet Another "Texas Model" Federal Education Program. Yikes.
In 2002, the White House Said It Didn't Need FISA Standards Lowered -- That Existing Law Was Just Fine, Thank You.
Things Change, But the Constitution Abides
"Checks and Balances. How Quaint!"
Now HERE'S What I'm Talkin' 'Bout: Pete McCloskey
Former Reagan Official on What's Conservative...
Links Resources: The Mishandling of Iraq
That's a lot, but it covers the waterfront, from journalism to fiscal responsibility to national security and supporting the troops to religion to economics to abortion. At least it gives an overview of how one Progressive thinks about these issues, and tries to put them into the context of basic American values.
I'd like to think that this blog fills that order, but I haven't yet gotten around to trying to put all the pieces of the NeoProgressive philosophy together in one place. Certainly not one single post or essay -- it would be a book (which, someday, I intend to turn this blog into).
But at the very least, I was able to surf all the posts on this site and identify the ones that, taken together, lay out the basics of such a philosophy. So, I did that; a list of those links is below.
I also referred my reader to three books that lay out a progressive-left agenda. These won't satisfy conservative neoprogs, but they still fall within the parameters of the broader Neoprogressive idea (in other words, they're left-progressive, while other people are right-progressive, but they're still progressive rather than extremist or radical). They are: James Carville's "We're Right, They're Wrong" (fairly short, political philosophy peppered with some good Cajun recipes); Jimmy Carter's new "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis"; and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's "The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda".
This blog, of course, tries to point to a middle way -- an American way that's neither liberal nor conservative but sets moral, good-government ground rules within which those two camps can do honorable battle. Along those lines, I offer a ridiculous number of links to individual posts from this site that, taken together, lay out what I consider to be a good neoprogressive philosophy:
Welcome to the NeoProgBlog
On the Proper Role of Government in a Democratic Society
A Neoprogressive Approach to the Abortion Debate
The War on Christmas
Alito and the Slippery Slope to Totalitarianism
Can't Have DemocracyWithout Knowing the Facts
Watching the Watchers: A Good Journalist Keeps Digging...
Fans of Good Government: A Good Day
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? (Iraq)
Mine Safety
But It's Just a SMALL Hole in the Dike, Right? (Economics and Foreign Trade)
Mind-Numbing Stuff About the Fed, Money Supply, M3, and the Possible End of the World As We Know It
Gozar's Coming Ho-ome! (A soldier comes home.)
Trustbusting in the Modern Era: Not?
Alito Clearly Opposes Roe v. Wade. Why Can't He Say So, And Let the Chips Fall Where They May?
A Tale of Two Nations
Tom Delay and the Ungrateful Gerrymander
Profiles in Cowardice
How To Fail in Government Without Really Trying
Science in the Vatican
How to Fail in Government, Mental Health Edition
Yet Another "Texas Model" Federal Education Program. Yikes.
In 2002, the White House Said It Didn't Need FISA Standards Lowered -- That Existing Law Was Just Fine, Thank You.
Things Change, But the Constitution Abides
"Checks and Balances. How Quaint!"
Now HERE'S What I'm Talkin' 'Bout: Pete McCloskey
Former Reagan Official on What's Conservative...
Links Resources: The Mishandling of Iraq
That's a lot, but it covers the waterfront, from journalism to fiscal responsibility to national security and supporting the troops to religion to economics to abortion. At least it gives an overview of how one Progressive thinks about these issues, and tries to put them into the context of basic American values.
posted by
Anonymous | 2/28/2006 02:52:00 PM
5 Comments:
Someone's actually going to read all this? Cool!
Seriously, I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially any places where you think I either got something wrong or left something out. I seriously might turn this into a book at some point -- I've written enough! -- and would appreciate input.
I just found your website and I'm very intrigued by what you're discussing.
My daughter is a freshman at U of Oregon, double-majoring in Environmental Studies and Public Policy (totally under my influence, of course). She called me this afternoon, wanting my advice on what workshops to attend at an apparently BIG Environmental Law conference there tomorrow.
I urged her to attend the one on something along the lines of Environment and Constitutional Law. I said that, since both the Constitution and the Environment are being shredded, and everything's up for grabs, that's the one I'd go to if I could only fit one in, since she's also working on a paper on Comparative Political Strategies of Environmental Organizations.
I live in New Mexico, and I think there's quite a bit of action, conversation, and confusion about what progressives and dems and liberals and everything else are here. I've always been uncomfortable with all the traditional political labels.
My Significant Other is a "progressive" spending all day tomorrow at the State Dem Party Platform Committee meeting, trying to ensure that a number of platform initiative created by "progressives" are woven into the State platform.
It's late Friday night and I need to curl up with my National Geographic, but I'm going to come back and see what you all have to say, because it looks like it's along the lines of the endless late-night political conversations we have in my kitchen these days.
Marti: My wife has the .pdf for that conference somewhere on her email; if you don't have it, I'd be glad to send it to you if it'll help you figure out which ones look most interesting. Let me know early tomorrow (right now I'm up only to get a drink of water and go back to sleep!)
Marti: here's the pdf. My wife says that yes, there are a lot of people excited about this program on campus! If you'd like to talk more first thing tomorrow, feel free to email me at: vichydems@safe-mail.net. Heck, I may go sit in on a couple of sessions myself.
brochure.pdf
Oh, and here's the link to the conference site itself. I'm having trouble with the linktext, but it's http://www.pielc.org/
Trying to insert a link: pielc
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