Iraq Veterans Against the War get my vote, for their stalwart anti-war activism.

Posted by jconnell at 12/4/2007

Thanks to The Nation for a better poll question and answer options this time.

Aside from the larger global environmental questions there aren't many issues of greater importance for Americans than those involving our constitutional rights. A sidecar to this ought to be a downsizing of the greatest threat to those rights, our morbidly obese and increasingly privatized military industrial complex.

My vote here goes to The CCR for their efforts to forestall our bad moon from rising.

Posted by b_kool_66 at 12/4/2007

In regards to constitutional rights I recommend this Alex Cockburn piece that just popped up on his Counterpunch site.

Excerpt:

Wilkerson's alleged "crimes" consisted of intervening to assist an unconscious man who in her estimate was in grave risk of asphyxiation after an Ann Arbor cop had inflicted unnecessary and sadistic force, and a paramedic had compounded the brutality by breaking three ampoules of ammonia under the unconscious man's nose, saying, "You don't like that, do you."

The entire case is a parable of current trends: the criminalization of free speech; prosecutions intended to chill lawful protest; out-of-control police conduct; a spaniel press; and most sinister of all, a witch-hunting posture towards anything a cop or a prosecutor can construe as "radical terrorism". This posture is embodied in its most sinister guise by the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 404-6 earlier this year and now under review by a committee of the U.S. Senate.

For the rest click here Jackboot state stubs its toe [counterpunch.org].

Posted by b_kool_66 at 12/4/2007

None of the above, but really, most of the above. Web polls with one-choice-only radio buttons are a stupid form. We should be thinking about how to increase cooperation among our groups, not treating them as in competition with one another.

Posted by Fudu at 12/4/2007

I nominate the Rockridge Institute, for their multiplying effect. They're not in your face all the time, as is MoveOn.org, but work quietly behind the scenes to help people express progressive ideas in a clear and coherent manner.

Posted by jtifft at 12/5/2007

I thought it was Howard Dean's DNC and the 50-state strategy, then I read Bob Moser's article "Fumbling Florida." Ugh. I don't know if CCR has made a difference in terms of electoral politics, but thank God for them and what they're doing, for the people they help and for the Constitution. roger jones minneapolis

Posted by Roger Jones at 12/5/2007

I would like to nominate GoLeft.tv.

www.goleft.tv

Posted by liberaloutlaw at 12/5/2007

Whomever you vote for, please get involved - PLEASE sign MoveOn.org’s petition “Stop a Bush War with Iran” at http://pol.moveon.org/pac/noiranwar/ These petitions (we expect hundreds of thousands of signatures) will be delivered to Congresspersons around the country on Dec. 13th. Find a Petition Delivery & sign up to attend at http://www.operationdemocracy.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=109 or sign up to host one if there’s none at your Congressperson’s office at http://www.operationdemocracy.org/event/events/create.html?action_id=109 Blogging is good, now TAKE ACTION!

Posted by samm1 at 12/5/2007

Valuable Progressive is an oxymoron.

Posted by Wahabplinker at 12/5/2007

All polls on The Nation website should be IRV polls, a voting system your editor has recently touted [thenation.com]. We need to make IRV as ubiquitous as possible.

Posted by progressnerd at 12/5/2007

Have any of the current top 3 Dem candidates spoken out in support of CCR lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the MCA?

Kucinich has.

Remember Sat Dec. 15 -- liberal Dems can put their $$ where their mouths hearts & minds are, by donating to the Kucinich campaign: Dennis4president.com

Give Kucinich your support on Dec 15 (anniversary of the day the Bill of Rights took effect), and the MSM will start giving him the level of attention they've started giving Ron Paul.

Posted by sloper at 12/5/2007

What power is it that the netroots supposedly have? Congress has repeatedly ignored the wishes of their constituencies, online or not. What are MoveOn's victories in the last 7 years?

Posted by jlsolley at 12/5/2007

I voted "none of the above" and my "nomination" is for no group. To answer the question "What progressive group has made a real difference in 2007?" requires me to perceive in the environment at the end of 2007 some situation or state that is clearly the result of progressive activism. Given that we are still mired in Iraq and the national security or surveillance state is still encroaching our rights, Guantanamo Bay is still open for business, a man wrongfully kidnapped, tortured, and released in the Albanian wilderness by the CIA hasn't even got standing to sue the US government, given that both Cheney and Bush are still in office and not impeached and given 10,000 other terrible aspects of our state today, and none good, I conclude that no progressive group has made a difference in 2007, though some certainly have tried.

Posted by Zero at 12/5/2007

Posted by LilyPad7 at 12/6/2007

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty ! NCADP.com has an engaging new format.

Posted by LilyPad7 at 12/6/2007

My vote goes to Amy Goodmand and Democracy Now.

Posted by hannibal76 at 12/6/2007

My vote goes to the Daily Show because they have reached the average teenager.

Posted by noushin at 12/6/2007

I don’t feel like we, as progressives, have made much headway in any of the underlying issues of the day. The government, at every level, has been unresponsive to our pleas and demands. Our so called representatives continue to scurry around, working to fill their individual nests with nuggets of personal power, corporate support, reelection finance war chests etc. They continue on the path of the insane. Democracy from the barrel of a gun, wholesale cannibalizing of Starship Earth, dismantling of the Constitution and Civil Liberties, media control,consolidation of wealth to the top 1% via the wholesale exploiting the masses augmented with tax breaks for the rich, deterioration of our schools and Infrastructure, diminishing Health care. What have we in the Progressive movement accomplished? From my limited perspective it would seem we are at a very critical juncture. We need to find a way to rally a more concentrated fulcrum in our struggle to regain our Democratic principals. They, the crazies, have managed to disperse our focus to such an extent we have become fragmented by fear and frustration to the point of ineffectiveness. If anyone has a viable idea how we can agree to manage our focus I’m all ears and will support in every way I can. I believe we must start with a maximum effort to support Independent Media like LINK TV, FREE SPEECH TV. Independent Media gets my vote and meager financial support. Hawkeye2

Posted by lsalmo01 at 12/6/2007

I voted for MoveOn.org because my phone captaincy in the '06 Congressional elections allowed me to gain a, you're right Zero, perhaps illusory, sense of progressive potency.

Posted by lewwelge at 12/6/2007

I voted for other. That other is the ACLU

Posted by RebelFarmer at 12/6/2007

I voted for other. That other is the ACLU

Posted by RebelFarmer at 12/6/2007

The community of progressive bloggers is defining a new national view of what it means to be a "centrist."

In spite of a mainstream media that still calls opposition to Iraq a "left wing" position despite upwards of 70% opposition, the blogosphere has affirmed for us that a new majority is emerging, a majority concerned with preserving the American Dream for the working class. Real, honest-to-God living breating people by the millions who are putting to rest the myth that this highly vocal gaggle of right wing crankbaits represent the majority of our nation.

Thanks to this community, we're all slowly coming to realize that after all the mistakes we've made as a nation, we're really not as dumb as we first appear. And with a little luck and a lot of sweat we may just get our country back after all.

Posted by trippin at 12/6/2007

If you look at the size of the group and what they are actively doing with the limited resources they have, Code Pink gets my vote. I've seen them at grass roots local anti war rallies here and now Media Benjamin is in Pakistan making a statement against Mushareef. Man, those women got guts.

For total work done though, no one compares to ACLU.

Posted by LarryB at 12/6/2007

We should not forget the work of USAction, a group that has been at the center of the fights for economic justice and ending the war in Iraq. USAction may not receive as much press as Codepink, but their achievements are substantive and far-sighted. USAction has been central to the coalition-building efforts involving the coordination of many of the other more well-known groups, and their work should be celebrated and recognized.

Posted by ctallent at 12/6/2007

Yes! Talk about your "thousand points of light," this is flashlight folks, it seems to me.

And in this spirit of progressive ecumenicalism, allow me to suggest the possibility of an increasing momentum towards fellowship/consolidation, versus partisan sniping, in the increasing societal recognition that kindness doesn't necessarily imply permissiveness and Randian independence/Objectivism doesn't equate to dismissal of empathy, forgiveness, and understanding.

Posted by lewwelge at 12/6/2007

Great question, Nation. Hmmm... I'd have to go with Voice of the Martyrs. They are working tirelessly and courageously to change hearts and minds in the most oppressive, backward places on earth.

Posted by tshawytscha at 12/7/2007

Do you mean 'Progressive' or 'progressive'? In either case, with respect to '08 and beyond, it is too soon to tell. What is clearer to me is the neo-cons and aligned factions within the Republican Party are preparing and making progress on winning the presidency in '08. Less Iraq violence, troops coming home, Palestinian/Israeli peace negotiations, support for foreclosees, and several other yet to be unveiled and unexploited events and initiatives will make it increasingly difficult for any Progressive or progressive or Democrat for that matter to move into the national forefront.

Posted by Moderatus at 12/7/2007

Iraq Veterans Against the War [ivaw.org]-- patriots for telling the truth about Iraq and Afghanistan to those interested in influencing the direction of the country.

Posted by azed at 12/8/2007

National Public Radio has provided me more opportunities to think over the issues and expose and challenge my own bias.

Posted by cdwilson at 12/8/2007

I vote for the First Infantry Division. From hitting the beaches at Normandy to patrolling Baghdad, the Big Red One has been in the progressive lead in the fight for freedom and democracy against fascism. The division motto, "No mission to difficult, No sacrifice to great, duty first! will live in the annals of progressive social action. Without the the First ID, the Bosnian Genocide would still be going on. Truly, the soldiers of the BRO practice what they preach.

Posted by don ho at 12/8/2007

There have been many groups that have been influential in '07 and among the most are the ACLU & CCR for their continuing fight to prevent democracy from being legislated out of our government.

Another group of unsung heroes are the military JAG attorneys appointed to represent the Gitmo detainees. Despite risking (and frequently losing) their careers for truly taking their client's cases to heart and defending them to their best ability, they continue to represent their clients and have, nearly single-handedly, defeated the attempts of the Bushiviks and their less democratically-minded comrades in arms' to railroad the detainees into a judicial hell-hole with no escape, no exit.

So, hats off to the Gitmo JAGs!

Posted by Marshalldoc at 12/8/2007

VoteVets.org

Posted by pg33409 at 12/10/2007

The U.S. Marine Corps has been the most progressive organization for upholding freedom and democracy throughout our hisory.

Posted by Ubu at 12/12/2007

Zero has it about right.

The fact that a DLC, Republican-Lite like Hillary seems to be able to buy her way to the Democratic nomination gives me a really bad case of indigestion and a real fear for the future of our nation.

I so not wish this to sound like hyperbole, but if Hillary is the nominee the Democrats can go pound salt and twist in the wind. I will sit on my hands and watch her take the party to yet another defeat. Even if she 'wins', America loses by electing the Goldwater Girl to the White House.

Knowing that, how can anyone say things are any better for all the effort?

Posted by NoPCZone at 12/13/2007

all of the above

I have to say, standing in the street as an anti-war vet alongside code pink is like having a church meeting at curbside, a pagan church without walls

what this has accomplished in 2007 is not so tangible, but my heart is pumping pink blood

Posted by Jim Willingham at 12/13/2007