Does The Word "Progressive" Mean Anything Anymore?

4 progressives recently elected to Congress

When I was first getting into politics-- believe it or not, I was (briefly) the president of my college's Young Democrats-- the word "liberal" was worn proudly by people on the left. Now? It was tarnished from all sides and replaced by "progressive." I want to talk about that word... but first let me run off on a somewhat related tangent-- another political word-- the usage of which often bugs me to distraction.

The word "moderate" is the most comfortable political term for Americans. It drives me crazy that Beltway insiders and dumb-bell media have used the word to described the center-right. The implications are not good:

• Left-of-center politicians are the opposite of moderate. Roget's Thesaurus offers several antonyms, mostly conjuring up very negative feelings: biased, harsh, imbalanced, incautious, intolerable, loud, prejudiced, rough, unacceptable, unbearable, violent, wild, excessive, immoderate, unreasonable. When a journalist refers to a right wing Blue Dog or New Dem from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party as a "moderate" or a mainstream conservative Republican as a "moderate"-- say Wall Street -owned New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer or Republican anti-Choice fanatic Chris Smith, also from New Jersey-- what are they saying insinuating about mainstream Democrats like Ted Lieu, Jamie Raskin, Yvette Clarke? That they are "wild?" "Excessive?" "Imbalanced?"

• And what about popular policies like, raising the minimum wage? Social Security? Medicare-for-All? Free state colleges? Dealing effectively with Climate Change? Fairer taxes? Those are all policies supported by the vast majority of the American people. They are progressive policies. But not moderate? Are they radical? Extreme? Unacceptable?

OK, tangent's done. David Siders is a thoughtful writer. He dealt with the perception of the word "progressive" at Politico over the weekend. "In advance of 2020," he wrote, "the left wants to make sure candidates aren’t claiming the progressive label without supporting the cause." The early morning post today, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-- Not A Garden Variety Democratic Back-Bencher, had me worked up over some Bloomberg reporter, Albert Hunter, referring to a gaggle of conservative Democrats-- all Blue Dogs and New Dems-- as "progressives." I've even seen actual Republicans referred to as "progressives." But, wrote Siders, "Progressive Democrats are beginning to confront an unintended consequence of their own success: dilution of the brand."

So many Democratic presidential prospects are now claiming the progressive mantle in advance of the 2020 primaries that liberal leaders are trying to institute a measure of ideological quality control, designed to ensure the party ends up with a nominee who meets their exacting standards.

Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are discussing policy platforms that could serve as a litmus test for presidential contenders. Progressive donors, meanwhile, are plotting steps-- ranging from closer engagement with campaigns to ultimatums tied to fundraising-- to ensure that "Medicare for All," debt-free college and a non-militaristic foreign policy, among other causes, remain at the center of the upcoming campaign. In an effort to winnow the burgeoning field, progressive advocacy groups are beginning to poll supporters in the hopes of elevating candidates who gain the imprimatur of the left.

Keith Ellison was one of the co-chairs. He insisted on endorsing a corrupt right-wing multi-millionaire Blue Dog, Vicente Gonzalez. He did the same with another rich, spoiled right-winger, Patrick Murphy, a New Dem. Mark Pocan, another co-chair keeps inducting New Dems into the CPC. So far this year, he accepted New Dems Angie Craig (MN), Veronica Escobar (TX), Katie Hill (CA), Debbie Powell (FL) and Susan Wild (PA). None of them have signed onto the GreenNewDeal. (Neither has Pocan.) Another recruit is Gil Cisneros, a multi-millionaire who spent $9 million to buy his seat and, except for the "D" next to his name, is a Republican. Of the 27 new members only Alexandria Ocasio (NY), Ilhan Omar (MN), Mike Levin (CA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Deb Haaland (NM), Ayanna Pressley (MA) and Joe Neguse (CO) have signed onto the #GreenNewDeal.

“You don’t just get to say that you’re progressive,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told progressive donors at a private conference here last week, a portion of which was opened exclusively to Politico.

Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, called the 2020 election a chance to “leverage our power.” But she called it critical “that we have some very clear guidelines about what it means to be progressive.”

For progressive Democrats, the 2020 primary carries all the markings of a watershed election. In a party that was once hesitant to fully embrace its left flank-- particularly in presidential elections-- the rise of progressive populism has manifested in top-tier candidates, several of whom believe the time is ripe to take their unalloyed liberal message to a national audience.

One sign of the new times: According to research by Elaine Kamarck and Alexander Podkul at The Brookings Institution, nearly 44 percent of House primary candidates this year identified themselves as progressives, up from about 29 percent in 2016.

In the presidential election that year, supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)... were running from behind. But now, just two years after Sanders was defeated by a more centrist Democrat, Hillary Clinton, self-described progressive Democrats occupy the upper rungs of the 2020 field-- potentially including Sanders and also Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, among others.

Elbowing past one other in recent months, such top-tier Democrats have staked out increasingly liberal positions on immigration, criminal justice, tax policy and campaign finance-- positions beyond where Barack Obama was willing to go in 2008.

“We’re sort of in this really bizarre window where, for a number of reasons, many of the leading … candidates are sort of tripping over themselves to claim a progressive mantle,” said K. Sabeel Rahman, president of the left-leaning think tank Demos. “And we have to make sure that that progressive mantle means something really progressive. And that means we should set the table, and we should set that table now.”

The donor gathering in the Los Angeles area, organized by the progressive donor network Way to Win, served as a reminder of the growing influence of left-leaning donors and activists in a party long dominated by more centrist money and ideas. Way to Win steered some $22 million to political efforts in the 2018 elections, and its supporters’ aspirations were reflected in the prayer candles on hand at the conference featuring the images of three progressive champions: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

And none of the New Dem and Blue Dog schlemiels, like Max Rose (NY) and Abigail Spanberger (VA), the Bloomberg guy identified in his story as progressives. Most of the members of the Progressive Caucus score an "A" or a "B" from ProgressivePunch. All Blue Dogs and almost all New Dems score an "F." It's not a perfect system but it's the best one available and... there's a lot of space between an "F" and a "B." These are Congressional Progressive Caucus members who have F scores:

• Darren Soto (New Dem-FL)
• Tulsi Gabbard (HI)
• Lisa Blunt Rochester (New Dem-DE)
• Donald Norcross (New Dem-NJ), as of last week, a CPC Vice Chair
• Dave Loebsack (IA)
• Ruben Kihuen (NV)

Most of the other CPC members who also also New Dems have "D" ratings. Reminder: these members have "F"s and "D"s because they vote against progressive legislation-- no other reason. One more thing: 3 senators have signed onto the #GreenNewDeal: Bernie, Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Brian Schatz (D-HI)... all progressives. I'm sure liberal Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who are trying to identify themselves as progressives for the 2020 presidential cycle and are this very moment focus-testing the idea and will get in touch soon. Listen to Alan Grayson talk about what a progressive is... and isn't: