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RedditWhen it comes to the big issues of our time -- like healthcare, energy and climate change, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and building a more just economy -- I've long believed it will require a strong inside-outside strategy to push progressive solutions through Congress. That's why I was so pleased when Darcy Burner was recently named Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org. (Full disclosure: I'm a board member.)
The organization's purpose is to bring together progressives both inside and outside of Congress to craft strong policies and work cooperatively to implement them. Burner knows the grassroots, netroots, and political landscape as well as anyone, and her close Congressional races in Washington state against a Republican incumbent in 2006 and 2008 are a testament to that fact. A former Microsoft manager, she was also the architect of the "Responsible Plan to End the War In Iraq".
Last month, ProgressiveCongress.org asked people to submit and vote on questions regarding healthcare reform via its website. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) then answered the questions on the House floor, where proceedings are broadcast on C-SPAN and entered into the Congressional Record.
The results exceeded all expectations.
Tens of thousands of people responded and Caucus members were "very enthusiastic" about "having more direct interaction with normal Americans out there who are interested in [these] issues." Then this past week there were approximately 47,000 votes on which Energy Bill questions to ask -- a response Burner called "unbelievable." (Caucus members answered those questions on the floor this past Thursday and video will soon be available.)
"This was an experiment," Burner said. "My tech background tells me you try ten things, eight of them will fail, and the other two will succeed. The catch-though, is you can never predict ahead of time which two things it's going to be. So, this being our first foray in trying to connect some of the progressive grassroots to the Caucus… it has succeeded spectacularly."
This is exactly the kind of creative experimentation people can expect from Burner and ProgressiveCongress as it works to connect progressives outside of the beltway with those on the inside -- leveraging the strength of both.
"I'm a huge believer in small-d democracy -- the idea that you want as many people to be actively participating in government as you can manage," she said. Burner wants to translate the "huge upsurge" in progressive participation in elections "into an upsurge in participation in governing…. This is the next obvious step. How do you get from merely electing people -- which I'll grant is very important -- to actually having people participate on a day-to-day basis in the process of governing?"
Both the grassroots and the CPC stand to benefit from this kind of focus on the progressive infrastructure. Burner noted that the progressive grassroots and their representatives in Congress haven't been aligned historically and that "makes both less effective."
"The members of Congress… because they don't know what people are thinking, because they don't have either the input from the outside world or an effective echo chamber talking about what they're doing to help reinforce it -- have been a lot less effective than they might have been," Burner said. "The flip side… is that the progressive movement, for all of the unbelievably smart people who have been talking about issues… writing about them, and communicating with each other… For all of that, they haven't had any real foot in the door of changing policy in this country. So, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts."
But working to build that whole is no easy feat.
"I was referring to it for a while as ‘duct tape' -- to connect progressives in Congress with progressives outside of Congress," she said. "And I was told that it was going to take a lot more than duct tape and at the very least I needed to add some baling wire….So, duct tape and baling wire."
Add to that a whole lot of sweat, determination and creativity -- and you. This is a critical effort. Get involved now.
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
Thoughts on politics, current affairs, riffs and reflections on what’s in the news and what’s not--but should be.
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I hear the Republicans are going to try this thing called "e-mail" on the "Internets"....soon as their Leadership figures out why their VCRs are still flashing "12:00" over and over.
(and yes, I said "VCRs", not "DVD players" on purpose....heheh)
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 10:57am
Posted by snowball666 at 06/15/2009 @ 11:04am
I doubt Palin will use Twitter. Somebody might ask her a "gotcha question" like...
"What did you have for breakfast yesterday?"
or "Seen any good movies lately?"
heheh
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 11:29am
Darcy Burner is a cut-and-dried corporate Democrat. The regional grassroots where she exists largely regard her as such and distrust her a lot. She is not a "change" agent, but is more of a Patty Murray or Maria Cantwell (both of whom recently voted with Republicans to raise the exemption roof on the estate tax, for instance).
Posted by syfriendly at 06/15/2009 @ 11:50am
While I know Darcy Burner has, I doubt Mrs. KVH has ever seen, much less touched, bailing wire.
Posted by Benchrest at 06/15/2009 @ 11:55am
Posted by snowball666 at 06/15/2009 @ 11:48am
Oh, or you could really stump her by offering up the THREE Gingrich positions on Sotomayor...
and asking Sarah "Which of these Republicans do you agree with?"...LOL
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 12:25pm
"I'm a huge believer in small-d democracy -- the idea that you want as many people to be actively participating in government as you can manage," she said.
Hint to Katrina and Ms Burner: we are not a "small d democracy", nor a looming socialist democracy. At least for the foreeable future, we remain a constitutional republic.
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 12:31pm
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 10:57am
What a snob you are Mask.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 12:47pm
At least for the foreeable future, we remain a constitutional republic.
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 12:31pm
So you DON'T think we're moving towards a Socialist state? A fascist state? ;)
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/15/2009 @ 1:35pm
Fascism IS socialism.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 1:55pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 12:47pm
Oh? Because I demand a "72 year old heartbeat away from the Presidency" candiate can answer a simple question like-
"What newspapers and magazines do you read?"...without acting like they were asked for 500 words on the Treaty of Ghent?
What do you accept as a "minimal" level of IQ in a President/Vice-Presidetn, FREI?...."Rain Man"?
"Time for tax cuts....tax cuts...definitely time for tax cuts!"
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 1:58pm
No, you are a snob because of your equating IQ with the ability to operate a VCR and articulate apparently the difference between an intranet and the Internet.
I even posted the timestamp of your comment Mask. I'm not surprised you jumped on something I didn't comment on. Typical for you. We're all used to it.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:08pm
So you DON'T think we're moving towards a Socialist state? A fascist state? ;)
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/15/2009 @ 1:35pm
We'll never see a fascist state in the US, but we could see a socialist one.
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 2:19pm
Fascism IS socialism.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 1:55pm
Ummmm. No. They're not the same thing. You might want to check your facts (or at least a dictionary), or are you being facetious?
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:19pm
Oh, hey, I forgot to mention, I'm a snob too. It takes one to know one.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:19pm
We'll never see a fascist state in the US, but we could see a socialist one.
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 2:19pm
And upon what do your base your statement?
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:23pm
Ummm, Steve, you may want to look into even something simple, like, the root of the word nazi. Assuming you would consider nazi's are fascists.
Fascism and socialism are cut from the same cloth. Sure Steve, there are indeed subtle nuances, but they are one in the same ultimately.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:24pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:08pm
Okay...so you'd want a President who couldn't figure out how to change the time on a VCR?
And one in fact, that was still using VHS recordings, despite their difficulty of maintenance and rapidly disappearing functionality?
If Mitt Romney starts talking about his Commodore 64...should we get worried? What if Newt puts his new "book on tape"....on Edison waxed cyclinders?
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 2:58pm
The COTUS actually even predated the ENIAC Mask. Hard as that may be for you to believe. And Woodrow Wilson wasn't a crashing failure because he couldn't program the clock on his VCR, was he?
I want a President who couldn't give a s**t about setting the VCR clock. He or she should have people for that trivia. And knowledge of video file conversion formats is hardly a prerequisite for the White House, is it?
See Mask, you are a snob. You probably don't know your BIOS from a CMOS.
You should be ashamed of yourself for targeting Republicans in this fashion Mask. Yeah, I'm sure Pelosi and Reid are real tech wizzards... Not.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 3:11pm
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 3:11pm
FREI, my joke was based on a few relevant facts, which I will now explain, destroying ANY humor and engendering more "What the hell is up HIS ass?" commentary directed at you.
1. A Republican party which demographic trends are showing increasingly OLD. If you wish to argue there is no lack of technical expertise on such gadgetry among seniors...I'll have my wife's grandfather call you....as soon as he figures out how a telephone can work with "no wires" connected to it.
2. The fact they are locked in a 1980s mind-set. Pining for "Reagan Days", while memories of same are being supplanted by folks whose "good ol' days"?....were Bill Clinton's.
and 3. A joke on the stagnant nature and lack of ideas from the GOP leadership.
And by the way, wasn't Woodrow Wilson smart enough to create that Most Evil, Most All-Powerful, All-Encompassing entity....THE FEDERAL RESERVE!!!!! (dun-dun-duhhhhhh....((evil chord)))
Posted by Mask at 06/15/2009 @ 3:40pm
Bad news for socialists and other assorted leftists in this country.
Latest Gallup poll shows conservatives on the upswing and liberals remain a very distant segment of the voting public.
<June 15, 2009
"Conservatives" Are Single-Largest Ideological GroupPercentage of "liberals" higher this decade than in early '90s
by Lydia Saad
PRINCETON, NJ -- Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s.
There is an important distinction in the respective ideological compositions of the Republican and Democratic Parties. While a solid majority of Republicans are on the same page -- 73% call themselves conservative -- Democrats are more of a mixture. The major division among Democrats is between self-defined moderates (40%) and liberals (38%). However, an additional 22% of Democrats consider themselves conservative, much higher than the 3% of Republicans identifying as liberal.
True to their nonpartisan tendencies, close to half of political independents -- 45% -- describe their political views as "moderate." Among the rest, the balance of views is tilted more heavily to the right than to the left: 34% are conservative, while 20% are liberal.
http://tinyurl.com/loaftf
So it seems that the leftist revolution has not yet translated to the voters. It is active with politicians, but fortunately they and the left remain a minority of Americans.
Keep Hope Alive! (LOL)
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 3:51pm
Well, first off, Wilson had no direct role in the creation of the Fed, Mask. He just stayed conveniently silent on the truth and out of the way. A democratic party attribute to this very day.
And, again, I am perplexed you call the Fed, "that Most Evil, Most All-Powerful, All-Encompassing entity" to mock me. I have never once uttered a word like that in description of the Fed.
But anyway, back to your point, thanks for clarifying. You are basically just generalizing along stereotypical lines. Republicans = Old People = Nontechnically proficient...
But I'm not really arguing the old people non-tech aspect. Sure, there's truth to that. It is that you apply this to Republicans, but not Democrats. Why is that Mask? Normally you are Mr. Hypocrisy Buster here, aren't you?
You are seemingly unaware you are building on image, not substance with your stereotyping political camps and technology. If i didn't know better, I'd think you were a little brainwashed from too many Apple TV commercials. :-) They say, "Hi I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC..." What you hear is, "Hi I'm a Democrat and I'm a Republican." Haha. Dork.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 4:03pm
Fascism and socialism are cut from the same cloth. Sure Steve, there are indeed subtle nuances, but they are one in the same ultimately. Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:24pm | ignore this person | warn this person
+++
Well, if that's the case, then someone should tell the Russians they lost millions of people fighting a war against the Nasties over "subtle nuances." (I refer to WWII, in case that's not clear.) If only you'd been there to explain that to the Russians, they could have been spared a lot of death and destruction and just resolved those "subtle nuances" with Mr Hitler.
Posted by Citizen54 at 06/15/2009 @ 7:47pm
So many of our friends here keep confusing being "conservative" with being "Republican". That's where much of the problem is. The latter-day Republican Party is far from being a "conservative"-oriented entity.
REAL conservatives avoid foolish, unnecessary foreign entanglements which sap the nation's treasure. Our neocon friends here are all about MASSIVE state action and power-wielding, if its particular vector pleases them.
Posted by schnellerheinz at 06/15/2009 @ 8:17pm
So many of our friends here keep confusing being "conservative" with being "Republican". That's where much of the problem is. The latter-day Republican Party is far from being a "conservative"-oriented entity.
REAL conservatives avoid foolish, unnecessary foreign entanglements which sap the nation's treasure. Our neocon friends here are all about MASSIVE state action and power-wielding, if its particular vector pleases them.
Posted by schnellerheinz at 06/15/2009 @ 8:17pm
care to compare how many times you have voted 3rd party vs how many times I have?
Posted by antisocialist at 06/15/2009 @ 9:27pm
If only you'd been there to explain that to the Russians, they could have been spared a lot of death and destruction and just resolved those "subtle nuances" with Mr Hitler.
Posted by Citizen54 at 06/15/2009 @ 7:47pm | ignore this person | warn this person
Why don't you explain how the two dictatorial regimes one fascist and one communist-socialist were ALLIED with common goals before Hitler betrayed Stalin!
Posted by BigPasture at 06/15/2009 @ 11:16pm
In recent times, individuals have realized that when it's not because of the individual's freewill, it did not give the needed results. That is why an intervention doesn't condone using physical strength to get somebody into rehab.
marie
<a href="http://themastercleanse.org/the-lemonade-diet">The lemonade master cleanser</a>
Posted by marie000 at 06/16/2009 @ 12:17am
In recent times, individuals have realized that when it's not because of the individual's freewill, it did not give the needed results. That is why an intervention doesn't condone using physical strength to get somebody into rehab.
marie
<a href="http://themastercleanse.org/the-lemonade-diet">The lemonade master cleanser</a>
Posted by marie000 at 06/16/2009 @ 12:18am
"Fascism and socialism are cut from the same cloth. Sure Steve, there are indeed subtle nuances, but they are one in the same ultimately."
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:24pm
This... without a doubt... is the stupidest post I have ever read on the Nation blog.
Posted by ttr at 06/16/2009 @ 09:28am
How many of the 3rd party candidates, for whom you voted, were elected?
Posted by snowball666 at 06/16/2009 @ 09:41am
What does that matter? It's about voting principle vs so-called party loyalty which was the insinuation of schnellerheinz
Posted by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 10:04am
REAL conservatives avoid foolish, unnecessary foreign entanglements which sap the nation's treasure. Posted by schnellerheinz at 06/15/2009 @ 8:17pm | ignore this person | warn this person
exactly when was this ever the case? the US has NEVER avoided foolish, unnecessary foreign entanglements.
it was always just lip service.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 11:07am
"Fascism and socialism are cut from the same cloth. Sure Steve, there are indeed subtle nuances, but they are one in the same ultimately." Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:24pm This... without a doubt... is the stupidest post I have ever read on the Nation blog. Posted by ttr at 06/16/2009 @ 09:28am | ignore this person | warn this person
stupid yes. ignorant of history, yes. posters such as this one are incapable of making distinctions. everything is painted with the same wide brush.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 11:14am
stupid yes. ignorant of history, yes. posters such as this one are incapable of making distinctions. everything is painted with the same wide brush.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 11:14am
Well JR, enlighten us on how dramatically different Italy's fascism vs Germany's Socialist Nazism were.
Posted by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 11:58am
Posted by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 11:58am
Uh-oh, Larry...you've done it now!
You mentioned "Deutschland"...Professor ROLF going to post 3000 words or more!
heheh
Posted by Mask at 06/16/2009 @ 12:17pm
by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 11:58am...
Germany's National Socialist party was a SINO fascist party from its very onset... and it is disingenuous of you to provoke such outright hatred with prevarications of this sort.
Bad tactic, Larry... people have learned to read.
Posted by ttr at 06/16/2009 @ 12:27pm
Germany's National Socialist party was a SINO fascist party from its very onset... and it is disingenuous of you to provoke such outright hatred with prevarications of this sort.
Bad tactic, Larry... people have learned to read.
Posted by ttr at 06/16/2009 @ 12:27pm
the truth is a bad tactic?
Posted by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 12:42pm
The German Workers' Party name was changed by Hitler to include the term National Socialist. Thus the full name was the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) called for short, Nazi.
there was of course a thriving socialist party in germany at the time. it is thriving there still as the SPD.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 1:00pm
by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 1:00pm...
Thanks for the correction...
by antisocialist at 06/16/2009 @ 12:42pm...
The truth will set us free...;^)
Posted by ttr at 06/16/2009 @ 1:42pm
I don't think we have time to wait for progressives to speak up. I think it is time for our own revolution in the U.S. against corporations making money on our health and illness! It is time for a Health Care Revolution, demanding that our President actually follow through on what he knows deep down is the only real solution to this mess that has broken the backs of families, small and large business, and the federal government. We cannot have congress design a health care plan when they are paid by the very industries that need kicking out.Reform does not mean the insurance industry, big pharma, and HMO's focus on shareholder profits and inflated salaries across the board. This is not health care! This is a system where illness produces profit.
Posted by GrannyPants at 06/16/2009 @ 3:03pm
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Posted by wujing at 06/17/2009 @ 01:56am
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/action/ignore.mhtml?who=wujing
you are welcome. let us know what you think.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2009 @ 08:22am
Ummm, Steve, you may want to look into even something simple, like, the root of the word nazi. Assuming you would consider nazi's are fascists.
Fascism and socialism are cut from the same cloth. Sure Steve, there are indeed subtle nuances, but they are one in the same ultimately.
Posted by freiheit1 at 06/15/2009 @ 2:24pm
I missed this or I would have responded earlier. BTW, I know the root of the word Nazi.
Frei, if you mean that socialism and fascism are both political/economic/social theories, then yes, they are cut from the same cloth, as are capitalism and communism. Can they both lead to a totalitarian state? yep.
Yes, the Nazis are fascists. The Soviets were communists. Technically, the Swedes (or one of those northern European countries) are socialists. Americans tend to be capitalists. They are all on different points along the socio/economic scale from left to right. That scale is:
Communism / Socialism / Capitalism / Fascism
You might ask where democracy is in that list. Democracy is a purely political concept and can be paired with almost any of these socio/economic theories. Although, with Communism and Fascism, because they so easily lend themselves to totalitarian states (the Soviets and the Nazis are examples), due to the nature of human nature, once the totalitarian state takes over, democracy becomes a sham. However, democracy has proven to be compatible with both capitalism and socialism.
So, I reject your assertion that socialism and fascism are essentially the same as a right wing talking point. The far right talking heads haven't been able to make the "socialist" moniker stick to Obama, so now they're trying the "fascist" moniker, which just shows their ignorance of not only history, but social/economic theory as well.
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/17/2009 @ 1:01pm
Technically, the Swedes (or one of those northern European countries) are socialists. Americans tend to be capitalists.
good post but far too simplistic. most if not all european countries are a mixture of capitalism and socialism. as are we. the progressives around the turn of the last century, and FDR were quite socialist, to the benefit of us all.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2009 @ 1:07pm
exactly when was this ever the case? the US has NEVER avoided foolish, unnecessary foreign entanglements.
it was always just lip service.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/16/2009 @ 11:07am | ignore this person | warn this person
I'm taking their word for it, Emile, that that's their ideal.
If it's the ideal of conservative thought to contain the use of government power, what better way than to stay out of foreign conflicts, many of which can be avoided? The ultimate use of government power, which is getting people killed.
That's just the point, there aren't any real "conservatives" who've ever, then, been in charge in this country. Despite their attempt to label themselves so.
Republicans, sure, but not conservatives.
Posted by schnellerheinz at 06/17/2009 @ 3:16pm
good post but far too simplistic.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2009 @ 1:07pm
Agreed emile. Purposefully simplistic. :)
Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/17/2009 @ 5:34pm
in most other first world countries, say England or germany, there is a left party and a right party. the left party is often the socialists, though they may be called the labor party.
here the political spectrum is so far right, that the rabid right keeps trying to demonize socialists, much in the same way they demonized american communists in the 40s and 50s, a dark era in american history.
Posted by emile duBois at 06/17/2009 @ 5:52pm
I am a bit disappointed with all the commie/Nazi, fascist/socialist jabber. people please read some history. Use The Nation archives. One of the first groups the German fascists went after with a vengeance were the Trade Unionists/Socialists. Their leaders were some of the fist to be "brought in for questioning_then shot. Because they were Socialists. The Union members were given a choice: swear allegiance to the Nazi Party and keep your jobs. Don't and..... (If you look at old Union pictures you will see the workers saluting with one hand their pocket. Their way of giving the finger.) The simple way (in it's purest form): socialist: Workers control the business for the good of all society. Fascism: Business and Government work hand in glove for the betterment of the owner/ruling class. I know it is oversimplified. See Mr. Emile good explanation on totalitarianism and economics.
Posted by sandune at 06/18/2009 @ 4:14pm
sandune
I thank you for the shout out.
here's how they destroyed the unions and all other trade organizations. they set up parallel Nazi controlled unions, etc. then they made it mandatory to join those entities. then they outlawed the old organizations as being redundant.
this was not just labor that they did this too. same with professors, scientists, etc.
this process was called "Gleichschaltung"
Posted by emile duBois at 06/18/2009 @ 6:05pm