Uncivil Rights

Currently, the biggest threat to the Republican Party is the Republican Party. They must make sure they are a cohesive unit that backs their President if they wish to maintain the majority and pass their agenda.

The Liberal/Progressives, on the other hand, are searching for their unifying factor. Every left-wing group has advice for their party. Here is an article explaining though there are different factions on the left, there are unifying factors in their values.

I personally love articles like this. It provides insight into the thinking of those on the left. I'll break a little of it down. It is a good sappy read.

The thesis: Progressives must become aware of the values they share in order to achieve a consensus of ideas while maintaining their individuality.

All of the types of progressives are right. They all share a commitment to nurturant values, but prioritize different ones.

A progressive government expresses progressive values in its goals and policies. For example:

* Strength: A progressive government must be strong enough to carry out progressive goals.

* The promotion of Safety and Protection for life, health, the environment, and human dignity translate into support for the social safety net, health care, environmental protection laws, and protection offered by the police and military. Governmental laws and policies ensure protection from unscrupulous businesses, pollution, unsafe products in the home, and unsafe working conditions.
This is where socialism enters the progressive picture, and the hate of big business.

* Fulfillment in Life is expressed in many ways: by satisfying and profitable work, by lifelong education and learning, and by an appreciation for the arts, music, and culture. This translates into support for our schools and universities, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, and our cultural institutions. Religious and spiritual fulfillment is supported by our many religious traditions, protected from undue influence by the government.
Notice the "satisfying and profitable" language used. This denotes an argument for the living wage, and again the hate big business mantra.

* Fairness and Freedom are upheld by our civil liberties, offering equal protection under the law and equal rights for all citizens. Universal education and health care and programs such as Head Start are all matters of fairness that also advance freedom of opportunity. A professional, nonpartisan civil service and judiciary support fairness and freedom by preventing corruption, patronage and favoritism in government.
Here we go with socialized medicine. Our government schools are becoming ineffective in preparing our children for an ever changing world and workplace environments. "Nonpartisan judiciary"? can someone explain why liberal judges are creating law rather than upholding the law?

* Opportunity is critical for fairness and freedom, and to achieve fulfillment in life. Our nation's public schools and universities provide opportunities for everyone. Government policies such as Affirmative Action offer opportunity to women and people of color who face unfair disadvantages in society. Government support of honest business practices, full accounting standards, and anti-trust laws provide the conditions for honest businesspeople to succeed.
Yes, the opportunities are provided, so why should we subsidize those that DO NOT take advantage of these opportunities? What is wrong with paying your own way through college? Is that not another choice you have? I believe we have come half way around the affirmitive action cirlce where the white male now suffers because of his color and sex. If we have "honest business practices" will the government then remove regulations that inhibit innovation and creativity?

* Prosperity is based on how well our communities are doing, and whether we all have access to good jobs, a good education, and the conditions needed to live healthy and productive lives. Equal opportunity is important to be able to achieve prosperity. And prosperity is necessary for opportunity. This translates into a progressive goal of government to promote widespread prosperity as a form of seeking the common good. The promotion of general prosperity need not be just a role for the government, but for corporations and businesspeople as well.
Access to good jobs means we need to be friendly to business through deregulation and less taxes. Good education means we need to move to school vouchers and create competition which will in turn breed better educational systems. Everyone in this country has an equal opportunity to prosper; it depends on whether one wants to take advantage of that opportunity or rely on the government to take care of them. The "common good" is a socialistic ideal. Here again is the hate business mantra by claiming a role of business is to bring general prosperity (you mean, make no profit and give a living wage to workers?).

* Community: Healthy communities are needed for healthy individuals. Policies that support healthy communities include well-trained and equipped fire fighters and police officers, hospitals and community care clinics, and other institutions that care for people in the community. Access to Fair Lending Laws, adhering to environmental standards, and sustainable planning and zoning laws all contribute to sound communities. And, an active civil society is a precondition for a healthy community.
Alright, one a can't really argue against.

* Cooperation is a hallmark of healthy communities, where everyone in a community works together to meet shared goals. Open communication requires cooperation and trust. In foreign policy, cooperation is expressed in support for the United Nations, diplomacy, and respect for international agreements and treaties.
Well one isn't bad. Support for the U.N. is nonexistent, and the U.N. should be eliminated. The U.N. has been a failure on all fronts.

* Trust, Honesty and Open Communication are required of an open government that respects its citizens. Open communication is how policymakers learn about the needs of people in their communities. Democracy requires a government that is responsive to its citizens. Regular press conferences, public hearings, and open deliberations by policymakers allow the people to communicate with their elected officials, and foster trust. The Freedom of Information Act and oversight agencies such as the General Accounting Office ensure the openness, honesty and accountability of the government to the people.
We are a republic. My God how many times do we have to repeat it? Perhaps if it were taught in public schools...?

A Progressive View of the Economy

The economy should be a means to these moral ends. Government should promote an economy that benefits all and functions to promote these values. The government provides the infrastructure and services needed to enact these values. Taxes are a means to maintain the quality of our infrastructure so that we can continue to live in a safe, well-ordered, and civilized society. Taxes are investments in our future.
The best economy we can have is a free market, capitalistic, economy, one that is allowed to be free and utilize supply and demand and pricing economics. Unfortunately for this author, a socialistic economy will not thrive and will diminish all the good things that this current capitalistic economy has earned. Taxes are NOT an investment in our future other than for military maintenance. To even think taxes are an investment is to believe the governement should run businesses. Entreprenuership is the investment in our future.

A Progressive View of the Environment

Humans and the environment nurture each other. If we want to continue to receive nurturance from the environment, and ensure this nurturance for future generations, we must improve our nurturance of the environment.
I say we destroy our environment and move to another planet...just kidding...sort of.

A Progressive View of Cultural Support

Art and education are part of self-fulfillment and therefore are moral necessities.
Whatever.

A Progressive View of Foreign Policy

The role of the nation should be to promote cooperation and extend these values to the world. This comes from caring about the well-being of people in our own and in other countries, recognizing that all nations exist interdependently in one global "society," and, therefore, wanting to cooperate with other nations to solve problems like hunger, disease, oppression of women and exploitation of children, and political strife.
Where is Jimmy Carter when you need him? So we need to give more of our money and military support to underdeveloped nations to solve hunger, disease, oppression, etc., so thise nations can turn around and tell us how terrible we are...no thanks.

Ultimately, the job of a progressive government is to care for and protect the population, especially those who are helpless; to guarantee democracy (the equal sharing of political power); to promote the well-being of all through cooperation; and to ensure fairness for everyone. Empathy and responsibility are required to meet all of these goals. These values are traditional American values, and progressives seek to reinvigorate them in American political life.
WE LIVE IN A REPUBLIC!!!! DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!! There is no equal sharing, just equal opportunity. My God, can this socialist idealism become any clearer?

The best part is, the more they talk, the more people understand what they really stand for, socialism.