What is a progressive, anyway?

[sybylla]

I quite often hear DUers asking this question. Today, I found an article that discusses the definition from the perspective of a variety of politicans and average citizens.

What is a progressive, anyway?
By Christa Westerberg
http://www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=266


I was surprised a few weekends ago by a cover piece in the New York Times Magazine calling for a new “progressive conservatism.” The editorial, by columnist David Brooks, opined that conservatives had lost the battle for small government, and lamented that “ow it is conservatives who often embrace special tax breaks, special subsidies, special regulatory sinecures.” Brooks proposed a “progressive conservatism” which would use government, but in limited and “energetic” ways.

Though Brooks’ progressive conservatism is still unformed, it’s bound to be better than the “conservatism” we have now: bellicose, budget busting, and Bible-thumping. But the article pointed to how ill-defined the term “progressive” is: Is it something to which both liberals and conservatives both can subscribe? And if so, what can this group of people with this common interest in progressivism do to advance it?

To find out, I recalled the “What is a progressive?” exercise that Fighting Bob conducted last year, asking readers to e-mail their definitions of the term to FightingBob.com and posting those definitions on signs at last year’s Fighting Bob Fest. The definitions people submitted were strikingly similar.

Most everyone agreed that progressives believe government must serve the public interest rather than private interests and fight the influence of big business and big money. Similarly, a progressive believes in the rights and worth of the individual, including (especially) the underrepresented, and constantly strives to improve the lives of people who have traditionally been treated less well by government, the market and fate. In the e-mailers’ own words:

<snip>

Click to view definitions of "progressive" by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Russ Feingold and Senator Tom Harkin.

[rogerashton]

1. A progressive is a liberal who kicks A**

n/t